Refinitiv has added to its cybercrime-fighting capabilities by acquiring an American digital identity, payments verification, and fraud prevention company.
The definitive agreement to acquire Giact Systems, LLC ("GIACT") was announced on November 2. News that the planned deal had officially closed was shared by Refinitiv on December 9.
GIACT was founded in Texas in 2004 and now has over 100 employees supporting more than 1,000 leading blue-chip companies, payment merchants, and financial and insurance customers.
The company helps businesses verify customers by providing real-time data, ID verification, OFAC screening, account verification, and authentication. GIACT has processed transactions for more than 1,000 customers since it was founded.
Refinitiv will offer GIACT’s platform alongside World-Check and Qual-ID, giving customers a comprehensive fraud prevention, identity verification, and compliance platform that tackles money-laundering risks in addition to preventing financial loss through payments fraud.
“We’re pleased to complete this acquisition and now look forward to introducing our customers to GIACT and our expanded suite of product offerings,” said Phil Cotter, managing director of the risk business at Refinitiv.
“GIACT’s real-time payment analytics are a great addition to our existing strength in anti-money laundering and digital identity verification. We now have a more holistic platform to help customers tackle new and emerging fraud threats, accelerated by the economic downturn and the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Refinitiv, founded in 2018, provides financial markets data, insights, and infrastructure to over 40,000 institutions in approximately 190 countries.
“We’re excited about the opportunities as we bring our capabilities and expertise of our teams together,” said Melissa Townsley-Solis, co-founder and CEO at GIACT.
“Refinitiv has a clear strategic vision for GIACT and our customers can look forward to hearing more as we turn that vision into a reality.”
Joy Wilder Lybeer, United States Information Solutions (USIS) chief revenue officer and senior vice president of global partnerships at Equifax, said that the company looked forward to continuing the relationship it had begun with GIACT in 2019.
“With the acquisition of GIACT by Refinitiv now complete, we will be able to continue our work in helping customers confront the challenges of identity verification and fraud prevention on a global scale,” said Wilder Lybeer.