Equifax, a US-based consumer reporting agency company, has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence (AI)-driven fraud prevention and digital identity solutions provider Kount for $640m.
Based in Idaho, Kount has developed a risk-based authentication platform called Identity Trust Global Network.
The authentication platform is said to offer real-time fraud prevention and account protection, while enabling personalised customer experiences for over 9,000 brands and payment providers.
The acquisition of Kount is expected to grow the global presence of Equifax in digital identity and fraud prevention solutions. It will also help businesses in better engagement with their customers while fighting fraud with Identity Trust Global Network, said Equifax.
Equifax CEO Mark Begor said: “The acquisition of Kount will expand Equifax’s differentiated data assets to bring global businesses the information and solutions they need to establish identity trust online.
“Equifax is taking advantage of our strong 2020 outperformance and cash generation to make this strategic acquisition.
“Our data and technology cloud investments allow us to quickly and aggressively integrate new data and analytics assets like Kount into our global capabilities and bring new market leading products and solutions to our customers.”
The Kount Identity Trust Global Network is claimed to leverage AI for linking trust and fraud data signals from 32 billion digital interactions, 17 billion unique devices, and five billion annual transactions spanning 200 countries and territories.
Some of the other products of the company include Kount Command for fraud prevention in ecommerce, Kount Control for prevention of account takeover and protection of digital accounts, Kount Data on Demand for providing advanced analytics and actionable customer insights, and Near Real-Time Chargeback protection.
The tools, which are all powered by the Identity Trust Global Network, will be integrated into the Equifax Luminate Platform, post-acquisition.
Luminate is a fraud platform that is said to orchestrate various solutions with machine learning to offer insights to risk managers for helping them in managing fraud decisions throughout the consumer account lifecycle.
Kount CEO Bradley Wiskirchen said: “We are excited to be able to offer Kount solutions with an expansive set of Equifax data, analytics and products. Equifax’s global reach will accelerate Kount’s international adoption, allowing us to help more businesses around the world to better protect their digital innovations and their customers against emerging threats while improving the customer experience.”
The deal, which is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions, is anticipated to be wrapped up in Q1 2021.
