Payfone, a digital identity authentication network, has raised $23m to expand its services into other markets.
The round, which takes the company’s total funding to about $93m, was led by an institutional investor with participation from Synchrony Financial and MassMutual Ventures. Anil Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner, the founders of Money20/20, Shoptalk and HLTH; and Andrew Prozes, the former global CEO of LexisNexis, also backed the round.
Payfone’s Digital Identity Network claims to accelerate revenue and thwart cyberattacks by authenticating identities ‘instantly without friction’.
“Our research shows that by 2020, 2/3 of e-commerce sales will be conducted by adults under 40. This next wave of customers will be mobile-first and will expect transactions to be both fast and secure,” said Rodger Desai, Founder and CEO of Payfone. “The days of using quizzes, questions and one-time codes to verify identity are numbered. Payfone is ushering in a new world where authentication is instant, passive and continuous using the most advanced cybersecurity.”
The new funds will be used by Payfone to expand its user experience-enhancing cybersecurity services in the retail, insurance, and healthcare sectors.
Payfone provides Instant Authentication for Mobile, a behind-the-scenes, identity verification solution that enables enterprises to authenticate their clients through mobile phones. It does this ‘quickly and securely’ by using a Trust Score that is generated by analysing digital signals against multiple authentication factors. The solution allows companies to eliminate two-factor authentication methods like SMS one-time passcodes and knowledge-based authentication.
Instant Authentication for Mobile is used by 6 of the top 10 US banks, and leading cryptocurrency, insurance, retail and healthcare companies. The company also provides Instant Authentication for Voice.
Earlier this year, Payfone partnered with O2, a U.K.-based mobile network operator. In the wake of increased incidences of digital fraud, the partnership aims to protect mobile users against cyber-hacks, account takeover attacks, SIM swap attacks, and other forms of fraud, with O2 leveraging Payfone’s Instant Authentication for Mobile.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
