TransUnion looks to bring trust back to mobile communications channels

TransUnion this week signed a definitive agreement to acquire RealNetworks’ mobile division. The acquisition will help expand TransUnion’s Trusted Call Solutions suite by offering protection of text messaging and expanding the company’s footprint in the E.U., where RealNetworks has a strong foothold.

To understand the strategy at work here, you likely need only look at your recent phone calls and text messages. Mobile channels are a mess. As a result, many consumers refuse to answer calls from numbers not listed in their contact list. 

This poses a significant problem for organizations across industries, including financial services, healthcare and the public sector, which often need to use the phone to reach people and relay critical information. 

According to TransUnion, mobile phone fraud now exceeds $80 billion worldwide annually.

Building trust in the text message channel

The company’s existing Trusted Call Solutions suite helps promote and protect organizations making outbound calls to customers by displaying the originating organization’s name and logo. It protects legitimate calls and helps block spoofed calls, thereby increasing customer trust.

“Ultimately, it provides them a lot of value when the consumer knows it’s them calling,” James Garvert, SVP of communications solutions at TransUnion, told MarTech. 

With the addition of technology from RealNetworks (the same RealNetworks that created the iconic Real media player in the early days of the internet), TransUnion will bring similar trust and promotional capabilities to text messages through a platform called KONTXT.

The combination of voice and text protection will give TransUnion customers a 360-degree view to protect their customer communications, Garvert said. 

Ironically, voice and text lag behind email in protecting consumers from malicious messages. But email spam filters work with a lot more context, Garvert said. They can see who a message is sent to, who it’s sent from and read the content of the message, including images and attachments. 

“Voice hasn’t had a ton of innovation,” Garvert said. 

As for text, it’s just getting started. Scammers are using SMS messages, but will likely move to MMS and RCS over time, forcing the technology to evolve yet again. “We see the forefront and the evolution,” Garvert said. 

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026. The terms have not been disclosed. 

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