Ant Financial’s user base, which includes Alipay, will be able to use an iris identification scanner to replace their password protected accounts
Alibaba’s financial services provider, Ant Financial, has made its first inroads into the US market after it announced it has acquired the Kansas City-based mobile eye verification company, EyeVerify.
EyeVerify is the creator of Eyeprint IDTM, a technology much like the software being rolled out in the new Samsung S7.
Ant Financial says the acquisition is meant to enhance the trust and security of its financial services, one of which includes Alibaba’s payment gateway Alipay.
According to Bloomberg, Ant Financial will be paying US$70 million for the company.
EyeVerify will continue to operate in Kansas City and will act as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ant Financial.
“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,” said Jason Lu, Ant Financial’s Vice President of Fraud Risk Management at Ant Financial in an official statement.
Also Read: Record Breaking: Ant Financial raises highest-ever tech funding round in US$4.5 billion Series B
The acquisition appears to have grown out of licensing agreement made between the two companies earlier this year. Now Ant Financial plans to further integrate the product into its services.
Eyeprint IDTM is works like one would imagine an iris-scanning software would. Instead of traditional passwords (or even Touch ID), users point the camera to their face for authentication. The technology also prevents spoof attacks (like using a photograph to act as a real person).
It does this by analysing the visible veins in an eye (which EyeVerify say are unique to every individual) and other micro-features. The company then scrambles and encrypts the data locally so it never leaves the device and cannot be hacked.
“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,” said EyeVerify Founder and CEO Toby Rush in a statement.
Also Read: Ant Financial report: China’s online spending shifts to services and leisure
For Ant Financial, the news comes a week after Jack Ma said the company is eyeing a potential IPO — which Bloomberg pinpointed at early next year. In April, it set the record for private fundraising round by an Internet company when it raised a US$4.5 billion round at a US$60 billion valuation.
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