Engage enlists industry leader, TSG, to manage the sale
Engage’s groundbreaking technology turns standard payment transactions into a modern two-way communication channel. This solution works within existing mobile and web applications, requires no Personally Identifiable Information (PII), requires no change in behavior or systems and solves all zero-party data issues.
As a result of the interest garnered since presenting at Money 20/20, Engage has selected an industry leader, TSG (The Strawhecker Group), to assist in the sale of the IP and technology. Acquiring Engage’s intellectual property and technology before it hits the market affords the buyer great flexibility when leveraging these assets to establish a competitive advantage.
The Problem
Merchants and customers want to engage and communicate, but to do so they must use existing communication channels outside the sale, such as email and text. Those channels require input of some type of personal information. In addition to the friction of having to provide and collect that information, there has been a massive market shift in customer behavior and restrictions related to personal data making it even harder for merchants and customers to engage. Today, 81% of Americans don’t believe providing personal information to merchants is worth it¹, and 75% of the world’s population is covered by modern privacy laws up from only 10% four years ago.² The world needs a communication channel designed specifically for commerce in today’s data protection era.
The Solution
Engage solves this critical problem using the one universal touch point for all commerce around the globe … the sale itself. There have been a lot of amazing advancements in payment technology, but the card transaction itself has never changed or evolved. Card transactions are used only for monetary settlement and displayed as static, information-only line items in cardholder applications. However, Engage uses a standard card transaction to connect buyers and sellers, enabling them to communicate in real-time directly within any mobile or web-based applications. Engage’s patented technology represents true innovation by evolving existing card transactions into a modern communication channel solving all of the current limitations of existing channels.
“Our patented enterprise-class technology was designed to quickly and easily plug into any application providing immediate value”, said Sean Mallean, founder of Engage. “The IP and technology, which works with web, mobile and extension applications, can be utilized across a broad spectrum of industries and providers.”
“TSG saw great potential in what Engage has developed”, said Sam Wares, who manages M&A activity for TSG. “This opportunity could benefit a broad range of organizations including issuers, acquirers, card networks, core banking platforms, digital banking platforms, transaction aggregators, digital banks, card-linked offer platforms, and even non-bank platforms, such as offer sites. We urge those with interest to contact TSG as soon as possible.”
Contact TSG online or call 1-833-690-1301 to discuss acquisition opportunities. For media inquiries, please email mediarelations@tsgpayments.com.
About TSG
TSG (The Strawhecker Group) is a globally recognized analytics and consulting firm that supports the entire payments ecosystem, serving over 1,000 clients from Fortune 500 leaders to more than a dozen of the world’s most valuable brands. Trusted by industry leaders, TSG’s strategic services, market intelligence, and analytics merge to empower clients with actionable and accessible information.
About Engage
Engage is the world’s first communication channel built on payment transactions…not PII. We turn standard payment transactions into a modern two-way communication channel. Our solution uses a standard card transaction to connect buyers and sellers enabling them to communicate directly within their mobile or web-based digital banking applications without requiring any personal information or any changes to merchant systems. Customers simply make a purchase and are connected to merchants where they shop. Engage essentially turns historically static transactions into dynamic, two-way engagement points. This groundbreaking technology works within existing mobile and web applications, and does not require backend integration.
- Brooke Auxier, “Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control over Their Personal Information,” Pew Research Center, November 15, 2019.
- Gartner, “Gartner identifies top five trends in privacy through 2024,” Stamford, Conn., May 31, 2022.