SecureKey Raises $27 Million from Major Banks to Develop Digital Identity Network
SecureKey Technologies, a provider of identity and authentication solutions, has raised $27 million (CAD). The capital will be used to fund the commercial rollout of a privacy-enhancing digital identity network, the Toronto company says.
Participating in the funding round are several major financial institutions including BMO Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC, Desjardins, Royal Bank of Canada and TD—all of whom are interested in using the company’s forthcoming technology.
SecureKey and its partners have established this strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of a new service to be launched in 2017, which will make it easier for consumers to manage their digital assets and to take control of their digital identity in a private and secure way.
SecureKey also announced that founder and chairman Greg Wolfond has returned as CEO.
“We want to help put the consumer back in the middle and let them take control of their digital assets, to share what they want, with whom they want, and always with informed consent,” said Wolfond. “We are excited to be working with so many partners to develop and deliver a national ecosystem that puts consumers first. Canada’s largest financial institutions are among the most trusted in the world, and we could not have a better group of aligned strategic investors for this groundbreaking initiative.”
“SecureKey is creating an ecosystem for customers to manage their digital assets securely and conveniently. It’s a model that is being developed with substantial input from TD and other banks,” said Rizwan Khalfan, EVP and Chief Digital Officer, TD.
“We’re pleased to expand our partnership with SecureKey to launch the new digital ID platform that focuses on simultaneously protecting our customers’ privacy while offering the potential to significantly enrich the authentication process,” said Andrew Irvine, Head of Commercial Banking and Partnerships, BMO Bank of Montreal.
“SecureKey pioneered federated identity and authentication in Canada by empowering consumers with secure and convenient access to online services. Banks like RBC are uniquely positioned to collaborate with SecureKey to realize a digital ID because of our deep knowledge of clients, best-in-class security standards, and our strict regulatory requirements,” said Eddy Ortiz, VP, Solution Acceleration & Innovation, RBC.
“SecureKey is setting next-generation standards for enabling online identity,” said Mike Henry, Executive Vice President, Retail Payments, Deposits and Unsecured Lending at Bank of Nova Scotia.
“Innovation is all about adding value and creating opportunity for clients, and we are pleased to be working with SecureKey to make it easier for clients to do business online with the confidence that their security and privacy are protected,” said Todd Roberts, SVP, Innovation, CIBC.
“The key to successful adoption of online and mobile services in Canada rely upon the creation of an ecosystem that brings in the strongest capabilities of all participants to give customers choice, security and privacy with their Digital ID. SecureKey‘s system meets these requirements and Desjardins is proud to support the development of this innovative solution,” said Patrice Dagenais, Vice-President, Payment Services and Business Partnerships at Desjardins Group.
