SecureKey Technologies, a provider of identity and authentication solutions, has raised CAD27 million in growth capital to fund the commercial rollout of a privacy-enhancing digital identity network.
Teaming up with SecureKey on the initiative and participating in the funding round are BMO Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, CIBC, Desjardins, Royal Bank of Canada and TD.
Building upon the SecureKey Concierge federated authentication service, SecureKey and its partners aim to accelerate the development of a new service to be launched in 2017. The new service will make it easier for consumers to manage their digital assets and to take control of their digital identity in a privacy enhanced and secure way.
SecureKey’s 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," says 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," says Rizwan Khalfan, executive vice president and chief digital officer, TD. "Investing in innovation that will improve the customer experience is core to our strategy. Given the priority we place on security and privacy, we're uniquely positioned to help shape this offering."
"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," says Andrew Irvine, head of commercial banking and partnerships, BMO Bank of Montreal. "The new service will help provide our customers with greater convenience, and save them time for a better overall experience."
"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 realise a digital ID because of our deep knowledge of clients, best-in-class security standards, and our strict regulatory requirements," says Eddy Ortiz, vice president, solution acceleration and innovation, RBC. "SecureKey's digital identity service will provide our clients with the peace of mind that they have come to expect, and will be a foundational building block in building consumer trust for the evolving digital economy."
