Mitek has confirmed the acquisition of UK KYC specialists, HooYu, as the firms unite to strengthen the fight against fraud.
The collaboration seeks to help businesses understand the true identity of their customers by combining biometric verification with real-time bureau and sanction database checks.
Max Carnecchia, CEO Mitek Systems, commented on the news: “Our current geopolitical, commercial and technological environment represents a perfect storm for bad actors. Mitek is leading the fight against fraud by providing the technology that businesses need to stamp out digital money launderers and sanctioned individuals. The only way to combat this scourge is to use artificial intelligence and stop bad transactions before they happen.”
It comes as The United Nations recently estimates that up to three percent of the world’s GDP – or nearly two trillion dollars – is money laundered annually.
“Having a single platform that easily orchestrates and configures a KYC journey to manage identities and identify bad actors is becoming a prerequisite for any business transacting digitally,” added HooYu CEO Keith Marsden.
“Bringing together Mitek’s lead in identity, liveness and biometrics, with our orchestration, configuration and journey services simplifies identity management for financial institutions.”
Underlining the significance of the deal, it has been struck as the global digital identity solutions market size is projected to grow from USD 23.3 billion in 2021 to USD 49.5 billion by 2026, recording a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.2% from 2021 to 2026.
“Mitek builds trust in the digital world, which we need now more than ever,” added Carnecchia. “This past year, Mitek continued to demonstrate our commitment to fighting fraud – both with the acquisition of ID R&D and now with HooYu. We deeply respect HooYu’s heritage as a UK-founded technology company, operating in the global financial services hub, and one of the most highly regulated markets. The combination of both companies’ technologies now gives our customers the most comprehensive identity platform on the market today.”
Expert Analysis: The link between the two firms is well-positioned to have a significant impact on boosting the payment journey and verification process for businesses as they aim to focus on heightened security.
