Payments network to offer digital ID services from SecureKey to Canadians

Canadian interbank network Interac Corp. has acquired exclusive rights to use SecureKey’s digital ID services in Canada, and plans to develop new digital ID solutions for the public and private sector.

Interac gets SecureKey’s Canadian business contracts and an exclusive license to the company’s intellectual property, which it plans to use in its effort to bring a suite of leading digital identity and authentication capabilities to market, according to the announcement. The payment network says it is building a network to allow Canadians to securely share and verify digital identity information.

“At Interac, we believe that digital ID is the key to empowering all Canadians to participate equally and safely in the future of the digital economy,” says Mark O’Connell, president and CEO of Interac. “Through this acquisition, we are proud to increase our investment in leading identification and authentication capabilities as we work to support businesses and governments across Canada in delivering secure and convenient digital ID experiences for Canadians.”

Interac will take operation of SecureKey services like Verified.Me and the new Government Sign-In by Verified.Me, which can be used to access 280 government services.

SecureKey will continue operating its international business, while collaborating on digital ID and network development, and licensing deals in other markets, according to the announcement.

“SecureKey is driven by a central goal of making consumers’ digital lives easier, safer and more secure when transacting with the organizations they want online,” comments Greg Wolfond, CEO of SecureKey. “We are excited about this transformative milestone that brings together the best digital ID capabilities for the benefit of Canadians. This deal is an important part of our broader global vision of licensing our identity network infrastructure to other brands and countries.”

Interac also acquired 2Keys in 2019 to boost its digital ID capabilities.

“As the pandemic has made abundantly clear, the way Canadians use their identity documents and how they prioritize accessing services digitally has changed forever. The need to accelerate innovation to provide secure and convenient options for people to transact with their identities is critical,” says Debbie Gamble, chief officer for Innovation Labs and New Ventures at Interac. “As a Canadian company bringing together Canadian digital ID capabilities, Interac is uniquely positioned to accelerate digital ID adoption and innovation securely in our emerging digital economy.”

The companies will each continue to act as independent collaborating entities. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Article Topics

authentication  |  biometrics  |  Canada  |  digital economy  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  SecureKey