American Express has announced the acquisition of InAuth, a mobile authentication and fraud prevention firm, in a bid to boost the security of digital transactions made by its customers.

The acquisition will enable American Express to evaluate the potential risk of a digital transaction, whether it be a customer logging into their account on a mobile app or web browser, or making a purchase from a merchant’s website.

The deal comes as commerce increasingly shifts to online and mobile channels, at the same time raising the risk of fraud. According to the 2016 American Express Digital Payments Security Survey, 70 per cent of US merchants have experienced an increase in sales through online and mobile channels over the past year. At the same time, 60 per cent of merchants reported having experienced fraud from online and mobile sales.

Anré Williams, president of the global merchant services and loyalty group at American Express, said: “Security is part of our heritage, and helping our merchants and partners fight fraud is a top priority for American Express. We’re acquiring the right company at the right time to evolve our leadership position in fraud management and security.

“This acquisition, along with Accertify and other significant investments we’ve made in data analytics and technology, will help us continue to offer security and protection to our merchants and partners as mobile and online spending drive commerce.”

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