Investors Back FileInvite’s Global Growth

Investors Back FileInvite’s Global Growth in Personal Data Protection

Auckland, 11 October 2019 - FileInvite, a secure cloud-based platform for personal information used in loan applications, has attracted an additional $1M from local and offshore investors, bringing the total raised in 18 months to over NZ$2M.

FileInvite expects to replicate its impressive growth internationally in New Zealand as impending updates to the Privacy Bill introduce more stringent standards for organisations holding personal data.

FileInvite streamlines how mortgage brokers and other financial advisors request, receive and store documents and other identifying information that accompanies a loan application. By providing a secure alternative to email, FileInvite’s customers minimise the chance of a data breach through human error or more calculated attacks including ‘social engineering’ in which fraudsters hijack an account known to the victim. CERT NZ recorded over 400 reports from individuals and businesses of phishing and credentials harvesting in the three months to June 2019.

“Email is not a safe repository for personal financial documents,” says founder and CEO James Sampson. “While consumers are becoming more cautious about clicking on suspicious links, few give a second thought to emailing personal information to their financial advisers and mortgage brokers who may retain those documents well after the loan application is completed.”

The raise was led by the Flying Kiwi Angels and included both follow on and new investment from angel groups across New Zealand and Australia, as well as a newly arrived US venture capitalist.

Garth Hinton, FileInvite’s Chair and a Flying Kiwi Angels member says “Regulators are making data breaches more visible and encouraging consumers to ask harder questions of the organisations who hold their personal information. FileInvite is becoming a trusted platform to help protect financial services applications among providers in New Zealand and internationally.”

Originally developed for managing creative and media files among advertising agencies, FileInvite already counts the majority of its customers in the USA, Canada and Australia, predominantly in the mortgage broking market, and is growing as businesses respond to new regulations to protect consumer data. These include New Zealand’s pending Privacy Bill, which follows updates to Australia’s Privacy Act in 2018 requiring mandatory disclosure of a breach of personal data, and the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also in 2018.

Joining the long list of clients internationally, New Zealand clients include Kiwibank, FinanceNow, Mike Pero Mortgages and Squirrel Loans.

For more information see https://www.fileinvite.com .

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