Ant Financial snaps up EyeVerify

Chinese mobile payment firm Ant Financial, a division of ecommerce giant Alibaba, has acquired the mobile eyeprint authentication firm EyeVerify for an estimated sum of $100 million.EyeVerify, whose biometric tech has been adapted by numerous banks and credit unions for mobile banking apps, can now lend its solutions to aid the growth of Ant Financial's AliPay solution.Bloomberg reported the purchase price as around $70 million, but a person close to EyeVerify says this is incorrect than that the actual amount was $100 million, and that it was an all-cash transaction.The firm says its Eyeprint ID solution eliminates the need for traditional authentication methods like passwords by transforming an ordinary selfie into a “key” that protects consumers' digital lives, including their mobile transactions.The acquisition gives EyeVerify more access to the more than 450 million people, most of them in China, who use the online payments platform Alipay.In a post on EyeVerify's website, CEO Toby Rush said it was an exciting time for the company.”As the CEO of EyeVerify, I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished. We started less than 5 years ago in a lab at a local university. Today, we pause to celebrate a significant milestone in our journey. That journey is still in its infancy. Our vision extends for decades to come. Many of you had a part in this first leg of the journey, and for that, you have my humble and grateful thanks.”He stressed that the company will be keeping its US-based C-Corp entity, its headquarters in Kansas City and its existing team.Rush goes on to note that firms including Wells Fargo and Tangerine Bank, as well as technology leaders like NCR and RSA, have already deployed EyeVerify's Eyeprint ID to deliver convenient, secure, private authentication to their customers.”In addition to serving hundreds of millions of people through Alipay's authentication platform, EyeVerify will continue to grow its global customer base. We aim to provide financial institutions worldwide with the identity and authentication technology they need to expand their services and meet the needs of increasingly mobile customers.”Jason Lu, vice president of fraud risk management at Ant Financial, said: “The acquisition of EyeVerify is a critical part of our effort to make bold, yet thoughtful moves to continually enhance user trust, safety, and experience ߪ It is an important extension of our efforts to accelerate the global adoption of secure mobile payments and allows us to improve our overall risk management.”EyeVerify said its Eyeprint solution contains the visible veins and other unique micro features in and around the eye and are highly complex and unique to every individual. They can never be lost, stolen, or intercepted because the technology scrambles and encrypts the Eyeprint data locally – so it never leaves the device. EyeVerify currently has 17 U.S. patents issued and 15 more patents pending to continue to expand on the technology.Previously, AliPay's forays into biometric security had focused on face recognition. It remains to be seen if this will change or if EyeVerify will present an additional modality for biometric mobile payments.

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