TransUnion looks to bring trust back to mobile communications channels | MarTech

"To understand the strategy at work here, you likely need only look at your recent phone calls and text messages. Mobile channels are a mess. As a result, many consumers refuse to answer calls from numbers not listed in their contact list. This poses a significant problem for organizations across industries, including financial services, healthcare and the public sector, which often need to use the phone to reach people and relay critical information."

"The company's existing Trusted Call Solutions suite helps promote and protect organizations making outbound calls to customers by displaying the originating organization's name and logo. It protects legitimate calls and helps block spoofed calls, thereby increasing customer trust. "Ultimately, it provides them a lot of value when the consumer knows it's them calling," James Garvert, SVP of communications solutions at TransUnion, told MarTech."

"With the addition of technology from RealNetworks (the same RealNetworks that created the iconic Real media player in the early days of the internet), TransUnion will bring similar trust and promotional capabilities to text messages through a platform called KONTXT. The combination of voice and text protection will give TransUnion customers a 360-degree view to protect their customer communications, Garvert said."

TransUnion signed a definitive agreement to acquire RealNetworks' mobile division to expand Trusted Call Solutions by protecting text messaging and extending presence in the E.U. Mobile communication channels suffer high fraud and consumer mistrust, causing many people to ignore unknown callers. Mobile phone fraud exceeds $80 billion worldwide annually. Trusted Call Solutions displays an organization's name and logo on outbound calls to promote legitimacy and block spoofed calls. The acquired RealNetworks technology—branded KONTXT—will apply similar trust and promotional capabilities to text messages. Combining voice and text protection will provide customers a comprehensive view to protect customer communications.

Read at MarTech