Mastercard / Ekata 2021
Mastercard acquired Ekata for $850M on April 19, 2021.
- Target
- Ekata
- Acquirer
- Mastercard
- Deal value
- $850M
- Deal type
- Cash
- Announced
- April 19, 2021
- Sub-sector
- Regtech
Transaction overview
- Mastercard announced the acquisition of Ekata on April 19, 2021 for $850 million in cash.
- The deal closed on June 25, 2021 after receiving required regulatory clearances.
- Ekata provides identity verification data and APIs used to detect fraud in digital transactions.
- The company's network covered over 5 billion identities across 238 countries and territories.
- Mastercard acquired Ekata to strengthen its fraud prevention and digital identity capabilities.
- Ekata was formerly known as Whitepages Pro before rebranding in 2019.
- The acquisition added Ekata's phone, email, address, and IP data to Mastercard's existing risk tools.
Why it matters
- The deal reflected consolidation in digital identity verification, as payments networks moved to own fraud data assets rather than license them.
- At $850 million, the price represented one of the larger acquisitions in the identity verification segment to that point.
Strategic rationale
Mastercard buys digital identity verification platform to bolster its fraud and authentication capabilities across the global payments stack.
Deal terms & multiples
About Ekata
Ekata is a Seattle-based identity verification company that provides data-as-a-service products for fraud detection and customer onboarding. The company's core offering is the Identity Graph, a database linking phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, IP addresses, and names to assess whether a given identity is legitimate. Ekata spun out of Whitepages in 2019 and rebranded under its current name. Its customers included financial institutions, e-commerce platforms, and payment processors seeking to reduce account fraud and chargebacks.
- Founded
- 2019
- HQ
- United States
- Key metric
- Identity data covering over 5 billion identities across 238 countries and territories
About Mastercard NYSE: MA
Mastercard is a Purchase, New York-based payments network that processes card transactions between consumers, merchants, and financial institutions in more than 210 countries. The company reported net revenue of approximately $15.3 billion in 2020. Beyond card processing, Mastercard has built a portfolio of data analytics, cybersecurity, and identity products through a series of acquisitions including NuData Security, Ethoca, and RiskRecon. The Ekata deal extended that portfolio into third-party identity verification data.
- Founded
- 1966
- Ticker
- NYSE: MA
Frequently asked questions
How much did Mastercard pay for Ekata?
Mastercard paid $850 million in cash. The deal was announced April 19, 2021 and closed June 25, 2021.
What does Ekata do?
Ekata provides identity verification data products that help businesses detect fraud during account creation and digital transactions. Its Identity Graph links phone, email, address, and IP data to assess identity legitimacy.
Why did Mastercard acquire Ekata?
Mastercard wanted to add third-party identity data to its existing fraud and risk product portfolio. Ekata's global identity database complemented tools Mastercard had built through earlier acquisitions such as NuData and RiskRecon.
Is Ekata the same company as Whitepages Pro?
Yes. Ekata was spun out of Whitepages in 2019 and rebranded from Whitepages Pro at that time.
How many identities does Ekata's database cover?
Ekata's network covered more than 5 billion identities across 238 countries and territories at the time of the acquisition.
When did the Mastercard-Ekata deal close?
The transaction closed on June 25, 2021, roughly two months after the April 19, 2021 announcement.
Sources
- mastercard.com /news/press/2021/april/mastercard-to-acquire-ekata/