ID verification software maker Mitek has released a passwordless authentication platform with multimodal biometrics. MiPass enables users to access digital accounts by taking a selfie and speaking a phrase with their phone, according to Mitek. The software can be embedded in applications via a dedicated software development kit. Mitek says use cases include simple account information updates, password resets, device rebinding and high-risk financial transactions. Chris Briggs, Mitek's head of products, says, "People are most loyal to companies that offer both convenience and security.

A disparate pair of publications is questioning if facial recognition can be used reliably when it comes to LGBTQ subjects. One point of view is a podcast from the conservative-libertarian Cato Institute think tank and the other is a blog posted on the site of digital ID verification provider Mitek. In the podcast, Caleb Brown, director of Cato's multimedia operations, says of facial recognition "is, for the most part, not ready for prime time." Brown is talking with a Cato colleague, Matthew Feeney, director of the Project on Emerging Technologies. Feeney says studies indicate that facial-analysis business tools may be better at determining sexual orientations than people. That has convinced some outfits to find related problems to solve with AI code.

Stephen Ritter is Chief Technology Officer at Mitek, a global leader in mobile deposit and digital identity verification solutions. When the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy proposes an artificial intelligence (AI) bill of rights, you know the conversation is leaping from technologists' private discussions to mainstream thought. But, make no mistake, even though Facebook says it's backing away from the use of facial recognition, there's no turning back. In the coming years, AI-based systems are going to change everything about how we live and work. And, currently, there are no rules of the road.

Biology has paved the way for AI. And, inspired scientists to replicate the complexity of the human brain in computer form. "The concept of a neural network is the first step," explains Steve Ritter, CTO, Mitek. Human brains, like current AI systems (that includes neural networks, machine learning and deep learning), have the ability to learn through experience, learn how to adapt and deal with new situations. "There's a difference between rule-based, programmed systems, and learning-based systems," says Ritter.

Mitek Systems, Inc., a leader in digital identity verification solutions, announced that it has acquired A2iA, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and image analysis. The deal is for €42.5 million in cash and shares of Mitek's common stock. Mitek software is used in 6,100 U.S. banks, including all of the top 10 largest U.S. financial institutions. "The acquisition of A2iA combines two market leaders in image recognition and processing, creating a powerful force with a deep expertise in image analytics," industry expert Bob Meara, senior analyst at Celent said in a press release. A2iA uses AI and machine learning to create proprietary algorithms that process millions of checks, IDs and documents each day for banks, retailers, insurance companies, mobile operators, healthcare providers and governments in more than 42 countries and 11 languages.

A few years before the presidential election of 2016, with all its Wikileaks, Russian disinformation campaigns, and phony Facebook links, San Diego's Mitek Systems (NASDAQ: MITK made a strategic decision to expand into identity verification technology. Funny how things work out. While mobile banking technology still represents 60 percent of Mitek's business, COO Kalle Marsal said Thursday the company's identity verification technology is now its fastest-growing business. After paying $10.6 million in 2015 for IDchecker, a Dutch provider of identity and document authentication technology, and $15 million last October for iCar, a Barcelona-based specialist in digital identity verification software, Mitek recently closed its biggest-ever acquisition--a nearly $51 million deal for A2iA, a French company focused on artificial intelligence and imaging technology. Mitek is a onetime defense contractor that re-invented itself as a technology provider for the banking industry--initially with computer vision technology for handwriting recognition (i.e.

San Diego's Mitek Systems, best known for powering mobile check deposit apps for major U.S. banks, has acquired French artificial intelligence firm A2iA for $50 million in cash and stock. The deal boosts Mitek's check processing and document verification capabilities, as well as expands its footprint into overseas markets. A2iA's check scanning technology, which can recognize cursive handwriting, is used by numerous U.S. financial institutions. It is also deployed in all United Kingdom banks and 90 percent of French and Brazilian banks. In all, A2iA operates in 42 countries and processes documents in 11 languages.

This article was written by Gregory Roberts for Bloomberg BNA. Entrepreneurs and innovators are invading the complex and often arcane world of regulatory compliance with some of the same technologies that have disrupted the core operations of the financial services industry. Machine learning, biometrics and the interpretation of social media and other unstructured data show promise as potential compliance tools for regulatory obligations that have mushroomed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, along with the investment and costs associated with them. Regtech is "the use of new technologies to solve regulatory and compliance requirements more effectively and efficiently," as the Institute for International Finance (IIF), a research-oriented trade association in Washington, put it in a March report. "I would define it as technological advancement that assists those focused on compliance and regulatory-related activities in their professions," Kari Larsen, counsel at Reed Smith LLP in New York, and formerly in the Enforcement Division of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told Bloomberg BNA.

Mobile capture and identity verification firm Mitek said on Wednesday (March 23) that it has appointed Stephen Ritter as the firm's chief technology officer. In that role, the company said in a release, Ritter will spearhead and lead the development of Mitek's core offerings, along with overseeing Mitek Labs, which is the company's scientific and computer vision operations. The firm said that, prior to coming on board at Mitek, Ritter served as senior vice president of engineering and research for Emotient, which was acquired by Apple. That firm used what are known as deep learning techniques in order to address computer vision issues. At Emotient, said Mitek in the release, Ritter helped fashion an emotion detection offering based on subjects' facial expressions.