“Ant Financial has acquired one of the most exciting biometric properties in FinTech.”
China-based Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial has acquired EyeVerify, the company behind the Eyeprint ID biometric platform.
The move signals a growing commitment to biometric authentication in digital commerce. Ant Financial is the operator of Alipay, China’s biggest mobile payments platform; and Eyeprint ID is a FIDO Certified biometric authentication system designed for mobile applications, and based on eye vein pattern recognition.
Alipay already uses biometric authentication in the form of facial recognition, but Ant Financial’s aim appears to be to expand the platform’s use of such technology via Eyeprint ID. In a statement announcing the acquisition, EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush explained, “Our payment-grade biometric platform is already trusted by over three dozen banks and technology leaders, and we look forward to helping even more people across the financial spectrum access digital services with security and convenience.”
It’s a considerable get for Ant Financial. Eyeprint ID garnered a lot of buzz and a Best of Show award at this year’s FinovateEurope 2016, and has also been trialled by Visa on its Visa Now app. Ant Financial has acquired one of the most exciting biometric properties in FinTech.
According to a press release announcing the acquisition, “EyeVerify will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ant Financial and continue to be based in Kansas City.”
(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)
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