Mercury Payments Systems, LLC, a leading payments technology and services provider for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB), has been named as a finalist for a 2014 PYMNTS Innovator Award in the category of Best prepaid. Mercury is being recognized for innovation that is bringing the next generation of stored value to the Main Street merchant with the Mercury StoreCard™, an all-in-one gift card, rewards card, and mobile payment card.

This is the third year for this competition, which has seen an exponential increase in participants, and has a submissions, selection and voting process unmatched in intellectual rigor and competitive energy. Judges this year included Janet Estep, NACHA, David Evans, Global Economics Group, Matt Harris, Bain Capital Ventures, Karl Mehta, Menlo Ventures, Hans Morris, General Atlantic, Paul Purcell, Continental Advisors, Dan Rosen, Commerce Ventures, Karen Webster, Market Platform Dynamics & PYMNTS.com and Matt Witheiler, Flybridge Capital Partners.

“Mercury has worked diligently to combine the latest technology with an SMB-friendly business model to create a package that brings big-brand features to Main Street merchants,” said Mercury CEO Matt Taylor, who will be speaking at The Innovation Project 2014. “We’re excited to receive industry recognition as a finalist in the 2014 Innovation Awards.”

Voting will remain open thru February 27^th at 12 noon EST. Winners will be announced the evening of March 20, 2014 during a live ceremony following the conclusion of The Innovation Project 2014, a two-day program hosted by PYMNTS.com that convenes the most elite innovators and executives to discuss the issues that impact every single player across every single facet of the rapidly changing payments and commerce ecosystem.

“The PYMNTS Innovators Awards is one of the most inspiring aspects of The Innovation Project,” says Karen Webster, CEO of Market Platform Dynamics and President of PYMNTS.com. “It puts innovation front and center and serves as a very visible reminder of the creative spirit and energy that will drive our massively dynamic payments and commerce ecosystem forward.”

The Innovation Project 2014 will be held on March 19-20 at Annenberg Hall on the campus of Harvard University* This year’s theme: Rethink. Reset. Reinvent will address a variety of topics including the reinvention of retail, commerce, the consumer experience, security, digital cash and global commerce.

For more information on Mercury and the Mercury StoreCard visit http://www.mercurypay.com/storecard-innovation-award/. To see the list of other finalists and to vote, click here, and to request an invitation to participate as a delegate please visit theinnovationproject2014.com.

About Mercury

Mercury Payment Systems, LLC, is an award-winning provider of payments technology and services to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. and Canada that processed more than $29 billion in payments in 2012. Founded in 2001, Mercury is a pioneer of “Integrated Point-of-Sale” (IPOS) systems, which embed payments technology into third-party POS software applications. Mercury solutions are brought to market through the Mercury Network™ of more than 3,000 POS developers and dealers that service local merchants. For more information, visit www.mercurypay.com.

About The Innovation Project

Over 2 days, 60+ speakers and 600 senior members of the payments industry will change the way that the payments and its broader commerce ecosystem thinks, talks, delivers and ignites innovation. On March 19th & 20th the greatest minds in commerce and payments will assemble at Annenberg Hall in Memorial Hall on the Campus of Harvard University* near Boston to kick the conversation about innovation up to an entirely different level at The Innovation Project. Speakers and delegates are among the most senior executives from literally every established payments company worldwide.

About PYMNTS.com

PYMNTS.com is reinventing the way in which companies in payments share relevant information about the initiatives that shape the future of commerce and make news. This powerful B2B platform is the #1 site for the payments industry by traffic and the premier source of information about “what’s next” in payments. C-suite and VP level executives read it daily for these insights, making the PYMNTS.com audience the most valuable in the industry. It provides an interactive platform for companies to demonstrate thought It provides an interactive platform for companies to demonstrate thought leadership, popularize products and, most importantly, capture the mindshare of global decision-makers. It’s where the best minds and best content meet on the web.

*Please note that The Innovation Project and PYMNTS.com are not affiliated with Harvard University, nor is the Innovation Project 2014 a Harvard University program or activity.