Mitek Buyout Modernizes FinServ ID Verification

As payment method possibilities expand for consumers, businesses are fueling the demand for increased security features. The trend has launched the financial services market into the world of data security, leading to often high-tech, innovative solutions, from fingerprint scanning to iris identification.

The trend is also, perhaps, why mobile identity solution service provider Mitek has made moves to strengthen its security offerings for the financial services sector. According to recent reports, the U.S.-based firm has reached a deal to acquire Netherlands-based IDchecker, which offers cloud-based identity and document verification tools, including facial recognition technology.

The acquisition price was settled at $10.6 million, the companies said.

According to Mitek President and CEO James B. DeBello, the buyout is positioning the company in a market set to see major growth in the next few years. “By expanding our product portfolio, we will transform Mitek into a global provider of mobile capture and identity solutions in the multi-factor authentication market,” he said, adding that MarketsandMarkets research predicts the industry to see a $10.75 billion valuation by 2020.

Through the acquisition, Mitek will take on IDchecker’s technology as well as its clients, which reports say include major financial services providers in the money transfer and payments sectors, among others. The firm’s StrongID solution has the capabilities of verifying 3,500 different types of identification, while its Facelink tool offers facial recognition abilities. Business clients that use these technologies, the companies said, are in a substantially better position when it comes to the Know Your Customer regulations.

The services will combine with Mitek’s existing Photo Verify and MiSnap services, which the company said are optimal for mobile identity verification.

“Businesses want to simplify the application process and augment their digital sales platforms with a menu of multifactor authentication tools that go beyond today’s unreliable knowledge-based analytics and other methodologies not suitable for today’s mobile environment,” the companies concluded in their announcement.