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Boku Sells Mobile Identity Unit to Twilio

Boku Sells Mobile Identity Unit to Twilio
  • Mobile payments company Boku has sold its Mobile Identity unit to cloud communications firm Twilio.
  • Twilio will leverage the technology to create new packages in its Lookup API and Verify API offerings.
  • Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mobile payments company Boku announced it has sold its Mobile Identity unit to cloud communication company Twilio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Twilio says the purchase is a reflection of its commitment to accelerate its vision for seamless mobile identity and digital intelligence. “Twilio and Boku Mobile Identity share a common goal– building a seamless consumer identity solution that doesn’t sacrifice user experience for security,” said Twilio’s General Manager of Account Security Aaron Goldsmid.

Boku’s Mobile Identity unit verifies customer data in real time using its database of mobile network operator identity connections. Ultimately, the tool helps business customers verify client data in real time, providing a smooth onboarding experience for their end users while mitigating fraud.

San Francisco-based Twilio said it will leverage Boku’s mobile identity technology to create new packages in its Lookup API and Verify API products. The company also plans to build on Boku Mobile Identity’s comprehensive mobile identity network to improve its existing security offerings.

Founded in 2008, Twilio seeks to reinvent how companies engage with their customers by digitizing communication channels via its APIs. The companies tools– which target voice, text, chat, video, and email– do everything from helping companies connect IoT devices to cellular networks to building real-time video applications.

Boku, which offers solutions that help deliver mobile payments, was founded in 2008. Last summer, the company launched M1ST, also known as Mobile First. The new offering features 330+ mobile payment methods, including mobile wallets, direct carrier billing, and real-time payments schemes. M1ST reaches 5.7 billion mobile payment accounts across 90 countries.


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