RadioShack, one of America’s best known retail brands, has signed a massive multimillion-dollar deal with Cork-based start-up Trustev to deploy anti-fraud technology across 4,000 stores in the US.
Starting in October, Trustev will deploy its new integrated sales solution at RadioShack locations to enhance security when customers are buying a mobile phone.
The company’s data fingerprinting technology will be used to verify a transaction’s validity.
The news comes just days after Home Depot in the US found itself embroiled in a major data breach involving millions of customers’ credit card details.
Trustev is one of the fastest growing start-ups to emerge out of Ireland in recent years. Just over a year ago, the EU Commission named Trustev Europe’s Top Technology Startup. In October, the company raised one of Europe’s largest ever seed rounds of US$3.5m from some of the world’s top investors.
In recent months, Trustev took the top prize at the SXSW accelerator competition in Austin, Texas.
The company employs 26 people and according to CEO Pat Phelan, who recently relocated to New York to spearhead the company’s growth in North America, similar scale deals to that of RadioShack in both the US and Europe are imminent.
The company’s CTO Chris Kennedy is building a security team in Dallas, Texas, to support the RadioShack business.
“When a consumer goes into a RadioShack to buy a phone or sign a mobile contract, an identity verification process will kick in involving the ID you bring with you, as well as credit checking, email, a lot of different filters,” Phelan told Siliconrepublic.com.
Data fingerprinting takes in 260 online data points
The custom solution from Trustev uses ‘data fingerprinting’ to verify a transaction’s validity. When a customer makes an in-store purchase, Trustev’s software instantly scans about 260 online data points to ensure the buyer is legitimate and confirm his or her identity.
Additional enhancements through the Trustev platform include an integrated activation portal for credit authorisation, as well as future online mobility sales for omnichannel capability.
“For the first time, the whole piece of identity and data verification has come together to combat identity fraud and safeguard RadioShack’s business in one single solution.”
Phelan said it was a significant achievement for a start-up to secure a deal with a company the size and scale of RadioShack.
“This is our first big US contract win but it will be followed by three to four large contracts in both the US and Europe this year,” Phelan said.
RadioShack image via Shutterstock
