The CEO of a Ballard based credit card processing company announced to employees on Monday that he is cutting his salary in order to pay each staff member $70,000 a year.

Dan Price, founder of Gravity Payments and CEO (1455 NW Leary Way), told the staff of 120 that they would all get a pay increase of up to $50,000 immediately and $70,000 by 2017.

The New York Times reports that the average salary at Gravity is around $48,000 and that the wage increase will bring at least 70 employees to the $70,000.

Gravity’s move happens at the same time Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance takes effect, increasing the minimum wage $15 per hour by 2018.

Price plans to cut his own $1million salary to $70,000 in order to pay for the raises. Gravity also plans to dip into as much as 80 percent of their anticipated profits from this year to cover the wage increase.

Price started the credit card processing company out of his Seattle Pacific University dorm room when he was just 19 years old. He admits he is nervous about the wage increase and does not foresee the move as meaning higher prices for Gravity clients.