TransUnion Buys iovation To Beef Up Its Fraud Identity Services

TransUnion inked a deal late last week to acquire iovation, the provider of device-based information, for an undisclosed sum.

In a press release, TransUnion said the acquisition boosts its position in fraud and identity management. TransUnion said iovation provides a “highly” advanced digital device reputation consortium, providing insight into close to 5 billion devices for more than 35,000 brands across 50 countries. Jim Peck, TransUnion’s president and chief executive officer, said “iovation has unique device identity and consumer authentication capabilities that help businesses and consumers seamlessly and safely transact in a digital world,” in the press release announcing the deal. “TransUnion has long been at the forefront of developing innovative fraud and identity solutions, and together with iovation, we will create an unmatched network of offline and online identities that will help make transactions faster and more secure, while providing a frictionless experience for consumers.”

According to TransUnion, with technologies that can identify new fraud patterns as they emerge, TransUnion and iovation’s combined solutions will enable customers to quickly incorporate and adapt strategies to the fast-changing and evolving fraud landscape. Some of the products iovation offers clients includes its FraudForce real-time device reputation and verification insight, SureSocre, which is machine learning technology that predicts transaction outcomes, ClearKey, which is a password authentication tool and LaunchKey, which is a multi-factor authentication tool.

“Our mission has always been to make the digital world a safer place for both businesses and consumers, which perfectly supports TransUnion’s belief in using information for good,” said Greg Pierson, founder and chief executive officer of iovation, in the same press release. “My team is committed to working together with TransUnion to set the standard for stopping fraud and abuse while improving customer experience.” TransUnion said the deal is expected to close in the second quarter or early in the third quarter pending approval from regulators.