MasterCard has acquired Brighterion, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning firm, with the intention of enhancing security with heightened fraud detection abilities.
The acquisition of Brighterion is set to provide its Smart Agent, which will be used specifically for fraud detection; joining MasterCard’s other products that leverage the cutting edge technology.
Brighterion is well established in the AI and machine learning space, as it supplies technology for cross-channel fraud prevention, and it is used in Homeland Security. Details of this high profile acquisition have not yet been revealed.
President of Enterprise Risk and Security at MasterCard, Ajay Bhalla, said: “Our unprecedented use of artificial intelligence on our network is already proving successful. With the acquisition of Brighterion, we will further extend our capabilities to support the consumer experience.”
Leading firms from across the tech sector are making moves to implement AI, and this is indicative of the important role it is set to play.
A relationship has been previously formed between the two firms, the Brighterion CEO, Akli Adjaoute, said: “We’ve worked with MasterCard over the years to identify patterns and trends to power their most advanced customers’ authorization and decisioning activities. We look forward to building on that foundation and providing an industry-leading, holistic and seamless security experience.”
The payments space has been highly active recently, primarily due to the major acquisition of the UK’s largest payments provider, Worldpay, by US firm Vantiv for $10 billion. It has been rumoured that other large scale takeovers could be about to occur.
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MasterCard has shown interest in other current technology trends, including biometrics. Earlier this year the firm launched a biometric credit card that requires the user to hold their finger over a sensor on the card.
READ MORE: Biometrics beat passwords for 93% of UK consumers
The company has also been engaged in research regarding biometrics alongside Oxford University, the subsequent report showed that 93% of UK consumers were ready to adopt this new kind of security measure instead of having to remember passwords.
