Utah payment processor to expand, add jobs

By Brice Wallace 

A payment processing solutions company will expand in Utah and add 300 jobs in the next few years.

Galileo Processing Inc. made the announcement after being approved for a $2.4 million tax credit incentive last week by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.

The company, founded in 2000 and based in Cottonwood Heights, needs new space to accommodate its employee growth and to build a data center.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

“This a company that’s been in Utah for a number of years now and has been growing quietly in Utah to the place now where they’re in this inflection point where they’re going to see tremendous growth,” said Tom Wadsworth, GOED’s business development and corporate incentives manager.

Galileo offers a technology platform that supports prepaid products and debit and credit solutions. It supports general-purpose reloadable, gift, travel, reward and loyalty, healthcare, and debit and credit prepaid products; hybrid transactional credit, item processing and savings account products; and mobile access, contactless RFID, virtual card account, integrated bill payment, secondary and companion cards, overdraft, direct deposit and SMS text alert solutions.

“Galileo is appreciative to GOED for the support of our business,” Clay Wilkes, Galileo’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Galileo has a strong and proven track record as a leader in payments and fintech and we are excited about the future opportunities to expand our business within Utah.”

The company has 170 employees in Cottonwood Heights. Wadsworth said Utah’s competition for the $15 million project came from neighboring states — he mentioned Arizona and Colorado. The company has a data center in Colorado.

Bryan Brooks, chief financial officer for the company, told the GOED board that its incentive was “very critical” in the company choosing Utah for the project. “What we asked the state for consideration was really what we needed to help our project pencil and allow us to continue to grow in Utah,” he said.

“Well, you’re a great company,” replied Jerry Oldroyd, chairman of the GOED board. “We certainly want you to continue to grow in Utah.”

The company is considering locations for the data center, Brooks said, adding that it most likely will not be in Cottonwood Heights. GOED documents indicate a leased location in Murray is among the options.

The project is expected to generate new wages of $121.5 million over seven years, with the average annual pay for the new positions being $80,000, as well as new state tax revenue of $12 million during that period.

“Galileo is homegrown Utah company that is taking an innovative approach to payment solutions,” said Val Hale, GOED’s executive director. “As Galileo researched opportunities to expand, we’re grateful they’ve selected Utah to continue to grow their operation.”{/mprestriction}