American Express to acquire Itasca's Accertify
American Express today announced it has agreed to acquire Itasca-based Accertify Inc., a provider of solutions that help merchants combat fraudulent online and other card-not-present transactions, for about $150 million.
The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the end of this year. Upon closing, Accertify would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express.
Launched in 2007, Accertify provides a hosted software application that offers an extra level of security for transactions over any of the major payment networks, including American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, PayPal or any other alternative payment method.
American Express currently provides fraud prevention tools, such as Electronic Verification, Enhanced Authorization and Charge Verification. These tools help merchants to evaluate the potential risk of e-commerce and card-not-present transactions on the American Express network. With the acquisition of Accertify, American Express will be able to broaden its fraud prevention services to merchants for transactions that take place on all networks. Accertify's capabilities will be incremental and complementary to what American Express offers merchants today.
“Merchants are interested in fraud tools that cover every aspect of the payment process; and we're pleased that we will now be able to deliver an industry-leading solution to them,” Bill Glenn, president, American Express Global Merchant Services, said in a statement. “While we already provide innovative fraud services for American Express transactions, merchants increasingly want single source platforms to address all types of transactions, regardless of the payment brand. We understand merchants' payment needs on a broader scale, and we're building on our commitment to expand e-commerce solutions and value-added services. Accertify will enable us to further increase trust and confidence in the online payment space.”
Jeff Liesendahl, co-founder and chief executive officer of Accertify, will continue as president.
“Since forming Accertify, our goal has been to build a fraud prevention platform that can help transform the industry and accelerate e-commerce growth,” said Liesendahl. “Becoming part of American Express will enable us to build on our success by scaling our business, providing even more merchant benefits, and extending our global presence. Together, we look forward to strengthening our platform with enhanced features and functionality that provide greater value and efficiency for merchants.”