# Ekata a Mastercard company

> Ekata, a Seattle identity verification business acquired by Mastercard in 2021, supplies APIs and manual review software that help businesses assess customers and transactions. Its technology links identity attributes with patterns of their use, helping ecommerce, payments and financial services teams investigate fraud and reduce unnecessary customer friction. Its capabilities are now marketed within Mastercard Identity.

- **Founded:** 2019
- **Headquarters:** Seattle, United States
- **Founders:** Alex Algard (Founder and former chairman; founder of predecessor Whitepages)
- **Products:** Account Opening API, Transaction Risk API, Identity Review 360, Address Risk API, Phone Intelligence API
- **Notable:** Mastercard announced an $850 million enterprise-value acquisition in April 2021 and completed it on June 9, 2021., Upgrade reported 21% fewer false fraud flags and 60% more frictionless verifications in a 2023 Mastercard case study., A Redis case study reported Ekata reduced DRAM usage to 30% of its previous requirement while maintaining latency, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

## Products & services

- **Account Opening API** — Supplies identity risk signals during signup so businesses can tailor approval, further verification and review.
- **Transaction Risk API** — Returns identity risk features and scores to payment risk models and decisioning workflows.
- **Identity Review 360** — Manual identity review SaaS, formerly Pro Insight; combines risk scores, explanatory signals, attribute matches, distance maps and reporting. Documented in 2024 product material.
- **Address Risk API** — Validates addresses and evaluates associated identity risk.
- **Phone Intelligence API** — Assesses phone validity, metadata and activity to inform identity risk decisions.
- **Ekata Identity Engine** — Underlying machine learning and data capabilities combining identity attribute relationships with observed usage patterns; now part of Mastercard Identity.

## Achievements

- Mastercard announced an $850 million enterprise-value acquisition in April 2021 and completed it on June 9, 2021.
- Upgrade reported 21% fewer false fraud flags and 60% more frictionless verifications in a 2023 Mastercard case study.
- A Redis case study reported Ekata reduced DRAM usage to 30% of its previous requirement while maintaining latency, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
- Historical Mastercard material described reach across more than 230 countries and territories.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Entrust announced expanded integration of Mastercard Identity insights powered by Ekata for earlier detection of onboarding risk.
- **—** — Visa Acceptance Solutions’ 2025 Volume 2 bulletin listed Ekata among third-party services whose support would end in Decision Manager; this concerns that integration, not a company shutdown.
- **2026-10** — At research time Ekata’s main website redirected to Mastercard Identity, and its LinkedIn page directed followers to Mastercard Cybersecurity & Fraud Prevention. Observation date, not an announced rebrand date.

## Links

- Website: https://ekata.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ekataglobal/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ekataglobal
- GitHub: https://github.com/ekataglobal
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzUiNFm2KU-uDMspWbn5bEw
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ekataglobal/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ekataglobal/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ekata-a-mastercard-company
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25