Trade press report on the IDX/IDT deal, very favorable . . . .
This is from the American Banker, dated today:
Identicator brings Identix a "strong presence in the banking market," including relationships with the American Bankers Association, Mastercard International, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication and Mellon Bank. [Mellon Bank is connected to the Fort Bliss pilot.] "Its systems are commonly used in employee background checks and in check-cashing and account-opening operations. [I suspect a lot of this is so low tech it is not worth mentioning, like ink pads for fingerprinting new customers. But background checks? Maybe we get a Sylvan deal out of this.]
According to Fowler, "This is the best possible consolidation event in our industry." The purchase of Identicator "gives us the full spectrum of hardware and software products. I don't see anything at this moment that could add more strategic value."
Eric Bowman, a Cardtech/Securtech analyst, says the deal gives IDX "increased potential to hit four specific markets -- government, law enforcement and large-scale ID, information technology, and financial services."
Fowler thinks fingerprinting will be the winning biometric, since "all signature products will disappear because they have a short-term and long-term evolutionary problem. Eye products will disappear because they are expensive and difficult to use, and hand geometry will disappear because it is easy to spoof." [He left out facial recognition technology; maybe just an oversight.] |
