US-based identity authentication provider Payfone has raised $23.5m in a series E round co-led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, the venture capital representative of health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
The round was co-led with private investor Andrew Prozes and included American Express Ventures, Verizon Ventures and Rogers Venture Partners, respective subsidiaries of payment services firm American Express and telecommunications groups Verizon and Rogers.
Early Warning Services, a joint venture between five major banks, also took part, as did payment technology provider Transaction Network Services, land developer Maclab Development Group, private investor Strauss Zelnick, RRE Ventures, Opus Capital and Relay Ventures.
Payfone offers non-intrusive identity verification technology for digital channels that utilises the unique identity of each user’s mobile phone. It has now raised $55m in equity funding since it was founded in 2008, according to press releases and securities filings.
BlackBerry Partners Fund, a subsidiary of mobile device maker Research in Motion that was later spun out as Relay Ventures, took part in Payfone’s $11m series B round in 2010 alongside Opus Capital and founding investor RRE Ventures.
American Express Ventures led a $19m round the following year that also featured Rogers Ventures, Verizon Ventures, BlackBerry Partners Fund, Opus and RRE, before Early Warning Services invested $10m in 2013.
Mike Spadafore, managing director of VC firm and Blue Cross Blue Shield Venture Partners affiliate Sandbox Industries, will join Payfone’s board of directors along with Andrew Prozes.
Spadafore said: “Through this investment, we are reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that healthcare consumers benefit from cutting-edge security solutions and protections.”
– Image courtesy of Payfone, Inc.