Uphold Acquires Secure Mobile Payments Platform, Cortex MCP

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Uphold has acquired Cortex MCP, a leading mobile commerce and authentication company. The acquisition will enable Uphold to strengthen its digital money platform with secure payment applications, leveraging Cortex's mobile wallet technology which is the industry's most secure.

This acquisition follows Uphold's announcement of a $57.5 million partnership with former Ripple executive, Greg Kidd, to increase the company's connectivity to financial systems.

Uphold will also acquire Cortex's patent portfolio and immediately start work on new IP solutions with an emphasis on authentication, tokenization, and blockchain-centric solutions. These solutions will allow Uphold to further extend its market leadership in expanding new innovative services in payment, acceptance, and identification for both the rapidly growing Uphold user base and merchants worldwide.  Specifically, this acquisition will enable:

• A new Uphold payments capability that leverages both crypto and FIAT assets;
• A new closed-loop payment platform expansion, leveraging Uphold's remittance and transfer capabilities in Mexico, Latin America, and beyond;
• New digital ID/authentication capabilities and services;
• Additional security solutions that further secure Uphold members' accounts.

Cortex's founder, Shaunt Sarkissian will head up Uphold's payments team.

"Cortex's mobile centric, closed loop payment and secure tokenization solutions provide industry leading technologies and security to our platform," commented William Dennings, COO of Uphold. "It additionally brings new commercial offerings and opportunities to our enterprise division, Uphold Solutions."

"Integrating the Cortex platform, IP, and solutions into Uphold's platform is a big leap forward for the payments industry," stated Shaunt Sarkissian. "Many more merchants and service providers will now be able to safely accept cryptos, giving businesses and consumers the widest possible choice. We are thrilled to be part of the Uphold team and journey, and look forward to the great things we will accomplish together."

About Uphold
Uphold is the creator of an innovative digital money platform that lets you instantly and safely access traditional currencies, cryptocurrencies, and other investments all in one place. Uphold has powered nearly $3 billion in transactions across 184 countries, in more than 30 supported currencies and four commodities. The Uphold platform provides access to the widest range of currencies and investments available in one place, with unparalleled transparency and security. Uphold is the only company to publish real-time reserve holdings, ensuring that its members are provided with the necessary information to make informed decisions. Uphold has global operations in Braga, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and San Francisco. To learn more, visit www.uphold.com, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Uphold