Likely as a continuation of its expansion into security markets, as with Visa ID Intelligence, Visa has invested in Very Good Security (VGS). VGS has a long history of developing strong encryption technologies and has leveraged that encryption of data communications into a SaaS platform.
The VGS website describes the advantages of this platform as “Our SaaS solution gives you all the benefits of interacting with sensitive and regulated data without the liability of securing it.”
Who wouldn’t want a security product that eliminates all your liability? Regrettably, I suspect this is an exaggeration; for example, if the data does get released into the wild, your company will still be confronting angry consumers and regulators and the associated brand damage.
Still, getting data out of the enterprise and into a SaaS platform that has Visa’s stamp of approval is a great start:
“Until now, data security and compliance have been impediments to business agility. VGS’ specialized infrastructure gives companies a competitive advantage when it comes to data security and compliance as it expedites product development, partnerships and vendor diligence by adopting a high-quality security posture and fast-tracking compliance certifications like PCI, SOC2, CCPA, GDPR and more.
VGS customers can issue credit cards without ever having to see a card number and they can run background checks without needing to hold Social Security Numbers. Plus they can optimize their payments infrastructure to ensure coverage and redundancy. And VGS gives companies all the benefits of interacting with sensitive and regulated data without the liability or cost of securing it.
Card issuers such as Petal and Mission Lane can operate more smoothly by never having to see personally identifiable information (PII) or payment card numbers, allowing them to focus on providing a seamless and secure experience for customers.
“This investment from Visa further signals a shift around how companies think about protecting sensitive data,” said Mahmoud Abdelkader, CEO and co-founder of Very Good Security. “We’re excited to continue de-scoping customers’ applications from ever having to handle sensitive data, enabling them to go to market faster and making it easier to partner with large financial institutions.”
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group
