authID Inc. - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One) 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

For the transition period from          to

Commission file number 000-54545  

Ipsidy Inc.  

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

780 Long Beach Boulevard
Long Beach, New York 11561 

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 516-274-8700

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act: 

Common Stock, $.0001 par value per share
(Title of class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act ☐ Yes ☒  No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes ☒  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒  Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). ☐ Yes ☒  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non- accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “non-accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s Knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒  Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No

As of June 30, 2018, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates was $69,924,716 which is based on the average bid and ask price of such common equity, as of the last practical business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter of $0.23.

The number of shares of the Registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding as of February 15, 2019, was 478,950,996 Documents incorporated by reference: None

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements discussed in Item 1 (Business), Item 1A (Risk Factors), Item 3 (Legal Proceedings), Item 7 (Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations), Item 7A (Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk) and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as in other materials and oral statements that the Company releases from time to time to the public constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements concerning management’s expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated economic performance and financial condition and other similar matters involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other important factors are discussed in Item 1A (Risk Factors) and Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. In addition, these statements constitute the Company’s cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It should be understood that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Consequently, the following should not be considered to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties. The words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “believe,” “plan,” “target,” “forecast” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based. It is advisable, however, to consult any further disclosures the Company makes on related subjects in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Emerging Growth Company Status

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act enacted in April 2012, and, for as long as we continue to be an “emerging growth company,” we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1 billion or more; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three year period; and (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer.” We may take advantage of the extended transition period until the first to occur of the date we (i) are no longer an “emerging growth company” or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opt out of the extended transition period. Consequently, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates

PART I

Item 1. Business Overview

Ipsidy Inc. (formerly known as ID Global Solutions Corporation) (together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”, “we” or “our”) operates an Identity as a Service (IDaaS) platform that delivers a suite of secure, mobile, biometric identity solutions, available to any vertical, anywhere. In a world that is increasingly digital and mobile, our mission is to help our customers know with biometric certainty the identity of the people with whom they are engaging. We provide solutions to everyday problems: Who is applying for a loan? Who is accessing the computer system? Who is at the door?

Ipsidy provides secure, biometric identification, identity verification and electronic transaction authentication and processing services. We have developed an identity transaction platform for our customers, be they businesses, residences, governments, or other organizations, to enable their users to more easily verify and authenticate their identity through a mobile phone or portable device of their choosing (as opposed to dedicated hardware). Our system enables participants to complete transactions with a digitally signed authentication response, including the underlying transaction data. In this way our systems can provide pre-transaction authentication of identity as well as embed each user’s identity attributes, within every electronic transaction message processed through our platform, or other electronic systems.

We believe that it is essential that businesses and consumers know who is on the other side of an electronic transaction and have an audit trail, proving that the identity of the other party was duly authenticated. Our solutions are intended to provide our customers with the next level of transaction security, control and certainty. Our platform uses biometric and multi-factor identity solutions, which are intended to support a wide variety of electronic transactions. We define “electronic transactions” in the broadest sense to include not only financial transactions (i.e. exchanges of value in all of their forms), and legal transactions (e.g. approving the release of personal or other confidential data), but also access control to physical environments (e.g. entrances to offices, public buildings, data centers and other sensitive locations) and digital environments (e.g. accessing financial accounts, voting systems, email systems and controlling data network log-ins).

The Company’s products focus on the broad requirement for identity verification and authentication, and access and transaction controls and associated identity management needs. Organizations of all descriptions require cost-effective and secure mobile electronic transaction solutions for them and their customers. We aim to offer our customers solutions that can be integrated into each customer’s business and organizational operations in order to facilitate their use and enhance the end user customer experience.

Our digital mobile wallet applications, or electronic account holders are used to contain different services and accounts that can be easily added and enable users to conveniently and securely effect a variety of electronic transactions, using their identity. One example is for consumers and employees to use their mobile application to authenticate identity, in order to access secure digital, or physical environments. We recently announced the launch of our integrated Verified solution with Datapro as an add-on to their online banking software. Another example is our closed-loop payment account, digital issuance platform, that is intended to offer secure and cost-effective methods of conversion of cash and paper to electronic payments.

The Company’s solutions for fingerprint-based identity management and electronic payment transaction processing have been in the market for several years. For example, in December 2017, we won an international competitive tender to provide our IDSearch Automated Fingerprint Identification de-duplication system (AFIS) to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, for them to ensure that no duplicate entries existed in the voter roll for the 2018 election. The AFIS system was delivered under tight deadlines and within budget, in order to enable the voter roll to be published and the election to occur as planned.

Management believes that some of the advantages of the Company’s Identity Transaction Platform approach are the ability to leverage the platform to support a variety of vertical markets including the identity solutions and transaction processing sectors and the adaptability of the platform to the requirements of new markets and new products requiring low cost, secure, and configurable mobile solutions. These vertical markets include but are not limited to banking and payment transactions, elections, schools, public transportation, government and enterprise security. At its core, the Company’s offering, combining its proprietary biometric technologies, with those acquired is intended to facilitate the processing of diverse electronic transactions, be they payments, votes, or physical or digital access, all of which can include identity verification, authentication and identity transaction recording. The Company continues to invest in developing, patenting and acquiring the various elements necessary to enhance the platform, which is intended to allow us to achieve our goals.

The Company was incorporated in the State of Delaware on September 21, 2011 and changed its name to Ipsidy Inc. on February 1, 2017, and our common stock is traded on the OTCQX U.S. Market under the trading symbol “IDTY”. Our corporate headquarters is located at 780 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, NY 11561 and our main phone number is (516) 274-8700. We maintain a website at www.ipsidy.com. The contents of our website are not incorporated into, or otherwise to be regarded as part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K

Global Market Opportunity

We believe that there are several market trends that drive growth in the identity solutions and electronic transaction processing marketplace, including growing concerns over identity theft and fraud and the increase in electronic payments, and solutions provided by non-bank entities. Moreover, the individual’s increasing reliance on devices of their choosing, most often a mobile phone, or portable computing device requires solutions providers to incorporate these technologies into their offerings.

While an increasingly digital world drives convenience, it also drives an increasing risk of compromised passwords, security breaches and stolen identities. With every online purchase, e-bill payment and download of new travel, dining and gaming ‘apps’ to a mobile smartphone, the footprint of consumers’ digital identity expands. According to credit reporting company Experian, e-Commerce fraud attacks in the United States increased by 30% in 2017 compared to 2016, while overall eCommerce volumes were up only 16%, indicating that fraud increased at double the rate of e-Commerce sales. (Source Experian: 2017 E-Commerce Fraud Report). The number of fraud victims in the U.S. rose by eight percent in 2017 to total 16.7 million, according to data released by Javelin Strategy & Research in February 2018. U.S. consumers experienced a total of $16.8 billion in fraud losses (Source: February 12, 2018 ABA Banking Journal)

For social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, trying to combat fake news and media manipulation, one of the biggest challenges they face is adequately identifying who is posting items on their sites, in order to enforce their Community Standards policies. According to Facebook’s Community Standards Enforcement Report first published in May 2018, they disabled 583 million fake accounts in the first quarter of 2018, in Q2 the number increased to 800 million and in the third quarter a further 754 million fake accounts were closed down. They also state that Facebook prevented millions more fake accounts from being registered. This staggering total of more than 2.1 Billion fake accounts – is similar in number to the total legitimate accounts. (Source: Facebook Community Standards Enforcement Report, November 2018).

To combat fraud and to better confirm customers’ identities, we see an increasing deployment of biometric solutions in the marketplace. In their 2016 report, Goode Intelligence forecast that by 2020 over 1.1 billion financial services customers will be using mobile biometrics to access and secure their accounts, and more than 16 billion mobile biometric payment transactions will be made.

Despite heightened awareness of digital security resulting from a number of high profile incidents, including those at Google+ and Marriott Hotels that exposed personal data of hundreds of millions of consumers, access to digital services and thus our identities is still secured in the majority of cases only through a simple username and password, although more services are introducing two factor authentication. In the United States, the most common identifier is still the social security number, which hacks of Government databases have shown is very vulnerable to being stolen. Governments, institutions and enterprises have therefore become concerned to find more secure ways to verify and authenticate identity and manage the identities of the persons with whom they need to interact, be they employees, customers, authorized users or citizens.

Businesses spend significant capital on acquiring and deploying dedicated equipment to fulfill a variety of their business requirements. The ubiquitous availability and use of mobile devices, which consumers have become accustomed to using for a wide variety of functions, creates the opportunity to dispense with dedicated equipment in favor of an easily downloadable “app” for a mobile device. We are continuing to enhance our solutions for our customers in order to take advantage of this global trend. One example would be access to a locked door by recognition of the presence of the user’s phone instead of a hardware token, using the security features of a mobile device enabled with the Company’s suite of identity solutions. The Company is also enhancing our Access solution by adding frictionless, biometric authentication using IP cameras, under our agreement with Ayonix announced in 2018.

Electronic payments of all forms have continued to grow at a healthy rate. According to Internet Retailer, citing figures from the U.S Commerce Department, consumers spent $453.46 billion on the Internet for retail purchases in 2017, a 16.0% increase compared with $390.99 billion in 2016. That represents the highest growth rate since 2011, when online sales grew 17.5% over 2010. (Source: Stefany Zaroban, Digital Commerce 360, “U.S. E-commerce Sales Grow 16% in 2017” Feb 16, 2018). According to Forrester Research, US retail sales made via smart phone will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18% in 2019, and will impact more than $1 trillion in revenues at some point in the customer journey. (Source: Threat Matrix, “4 Mobile Fraud Trends to Watch out for in 2019” January 3, 2019)

The growth in electronic payments reflects the importance of the “hidden payments” market, namely payments undertaken by means of closed loop cards and mobile apps, digital wallets offered by non-banks, mobile money offered by non-banks and virtual currencies.

The key drivers for these alternative payment methods is the cost savings to the merchants while satisfying consumer’s demand for convenient payment transactions with less friction. The gaps in the existing value propositions offered by the banks arise mainly because of legacy systems and regulatory constraints. These can stifle innovation and prevent consumers from easy access to the banks’ traditional payment services. In a growing electronic payments market, these alternative payment methods are therefore perceived by the industry as an important route for both innovation and financial inclusion.

Our Solutions and Products

The Company has established its Identity Transaction Platform with internally developed software as well as acquired and licensed technology, which provide solutions for the following services: (1) biometric capture and matching (e.g. for finger prints, or facial recognition); (2) multi-factor authentication; (3) access control comprising out of band identity and transaction authentication for virtual as well as physical environments; and (4) electronic transactions (e.g. payment transactions). 

Identity Transaction Platform Solutions 

Ipsidy’s customers can leverage our Identity Transaction Platform by using an Ipsidy out-of-the-box identity solution or by a custom integration. The solutions suite includes a full-range of developer integration tools and documentation that help our customers create their own identity and transaction authentication solutions via integration to our RestFul API’s. Our platform is designed to support a wide variety of identity and electronic transactions across a broad range of verticals. Our technical implementation team can assist our customers to configure our platform, mobile biometric identity authentication application and our AFIS to meet a specific commercial, geographic or market need and to provide the next level of transaction security, control and certainty for everyday transactions. We also make certain services available without integration The Company has the following product lines that are part of our Identity Transaction Platform capabilities:

Other Identity Products 

Payment Processing

Payment Gateway and Kiosks 

Modular Mobile Authentication and Authorization Platform

Growth Strategy

We seek to extend our position and execute our business plan by continuing to penetrate our existing markets and expand into new geographies and market segments. Our goal is to continue to deliver innovative security and payment services to our customers that help them achieve their operational or business goals. The execution of our strategy is subject to our obtaining sufficient additional working capital to finance the various initiatives discussed, whether through investment or otherwise. The key components of our strategy are discussed below.

Cross sell to existing customers

The Company is examining opportunities to offer its new platform capabilities and solutions to existing customers. Tokenization of transactions is also a secure processing methodology that has numerous applications across different customer use cases. The Company believes that by using our core technologies we will be able to create a platform that combines our identity technologies with our payment processing capabilities, and thereby, have a more complete offering for customers that are ultimately using only one of those services.

Add new customers

The Company plans to grow its core business through focused sales and marketing of its current products and solutions, as well as its newly developed platforms and solutions. We have added sales, marketing and product professionals who are developing additional distribution channels and seeking out new customers. We are leveraging our internal personnel with resellers, agents and distribution partners, who generally are focused on a particular industry vertical and have an existing customer base to which they can offer our products, in addition to their existing lines. Some of the industry sectors covered by our resellers include e-commerce merchants, facilities management, logistics, houses of worship and communal organizations. These resellers enable us to target a significantly larger customer base, while maintaining a lower overhead of our own FTE’s sales personnel.

Channel Strategy

The Company believes that its channel strategy will be an effective way to bring its products and solutions to a broad market in an efficient and cost-effective way. We have signed and are pursuing channel partners, that play a key role in their respective verticals, such as Datapro a technology provider for banks, SafeTrade for e-commerce business in Africa and Skypatrol logistics company for the trucking industry. These channel partners provide access to their customers, who in turn work with many thousands of individual consumers and businesses all of whom could benefit from the use of our solutions. By entering into agreements with such channel partners and leveraging their relationships, we believe we can expand our footprint much more rapidly and cost effectively, as compared to pursuing separate agreements with each customer.

Enter new markets

The Company has already entered new markets by virtue of our subsidiaries in Colombia and South Africa. The Company believes that the solutions that are currently being offered and developed in those countries will be suitable to be similarly offered in other emerging markets in the Latin American and African regions. Furthermore, the improvements to the Company’s platforms and the expansion of the sales teams are being undertaken with a view to being able to support transaction processing and customers across borders without the need to establish and build new facilities in each new country, thereby reducing the costs of entry into each new market.

Innovation

As the electronic and cybersecurity industry continues to evolve, we aim to be at the forefront by developing new services and solutions that leverage our platform and core competencies and thereby enable us to enter new markets, attract new customers and retain existing ones. We also believe it will be critical to our growth for us to continue to enhance our platform capabilities. We believe the development of new services and solutions will be an important revenue source in the future, and enable us to continue to differentiate our platform and capabilities. The Company believes that by using our core technologies we will be able to create solutions that address some of today’s major global market challenges and opportunities arising in identity solutions and access control, coupled with the ubiquitous use of mobile devices. By combining our core technologies, we have built an identity transaction platform using biometric and multi-factor identity solutions, which are intended to support a wide variety of electronic transactions.

Select Acquisitions

As we have done in the past, we intend to selectively pursue acquisitions that will help us achieve our strategic goals, enhance our technology capabilities and accelerate growth. We believe pursuing these types of acquisitions will increase our ability to work with existing customers, add new customers, enter new markets, develop new services and enhance our processing platform capabilities. However, we have no commitments with respect to any such acquisitions at this time.

Marketing and Sales

The Company has hired a Director of Marketing to develop and implement a robust marketing and content strategy.   The marketing team is tasked with sharpening external brand messaging to help focus the mission, sales strategy and product development as the Company strives to reach new target markets and customers. The objective is to produce industry-specific marketing assets that highlight our platform, solutions, and their role in digital transformation.  The Company plans to undertake a balanced mix of marketing activities including digital advertising, increased social media presence, email campaigns, and newly developed web-content.   Existing marketing assets and sales support materials will be refreshed, revamped, and in many cases simplified for cohesion, ease of use, and rapid comprehension & consumption.

The Marketing, Sales, and Product Development and Customer Success teams are collaborating closely to develop products that our target customers need and want and to convert prospects into new customers with simplified on-boarding experiences.  The Sales and Marketing Teams are also focusing on driving sales and new revenue by developing, attracting, and supporting a partner network of resellers and technology integrators. 

Revenue Model

Identity Management Solutions and Products

The biometric software products are priced based on a multi-year licensing model which is driven by the number of enrollees in the system. The Company expects to provide its new identity transaction platform services based on a subscription model, with tiered fees per enrolled user, card or device, comprising an initial enrollment fee, a periodic subscription and where applicable a per transaction fee. The Company’s CardPlus plastic and credentials card products are sold at a per unit price which will vary based on the configuration of the features and functionality of the product, as well as the services provided.

Payment Processing Solutions and Products

The electronic payment gateway services are volume priced on a per transaction basis. The pricing for the Company’s new closed loop financial payment platform is expected to be based on a combination of transaction fee and a subscription model based on numbers of cardholders and merchants enrolled. The Company also earns leasing income from the rental of unattended kiosks.

Competition

The Company has created an identity transaction platform allowing it to on-board customers who wish to deploy Ipsidy’s services and solutions in order to know with biometric certainty who is engaging with them. Ipsidy’s solutions include the ability to verify the identity of a user, via remote identity proofing, then provide physical and digital access, as well as transaction and device authentication, all digitally signed by the user using their identity. The Company’s platform utilizes commodity, consumer grade mobile devices for customer deployment with users engaging the platform via a corresponding Android or iOS smartphone app.

The Company also offers certain payment processing solutions and smart card products manufacturing and printing. The industry sectors in which these products compete are characterized by rapid change and new entrants. The Company will need to consistently develop and improve its products in order to remain competitive. 

In reviewing the competitors that exist for the Company’s current and planned products and platform services relating to biometric identity solutions, the Company considers a number of factors. Ipsidy’s platform approach offers an Identity as a Service (IDaaS) approach which seeks to combine a number of different elements into a single platform. Ipsidy believes that its full stack platform is exceptional in that it provides a combination of SaaS based identity verification and identification services which cover both physical and digital identity access use cases. The competitive landscape includes several companies that mainly address only one or other area, with some addressing multiple areas independently. However, it is believed that some companies are attempting to create combined identity offerings, similar to Ipsidy’s. 

In looking at our competition, the Company does not consider providers who do not offer a consumer application solution for smartphones, such as the Ipsidy App. Neither do we consider competitors, which are major conglomerates with vertically integrated cybersecurity companies, due to the vast array of services which they offer. Furthermore, some of the competitors which do offer solutions for both digital and physical use cases, are major legacy providers offering hardware heavy solutions principally for governmental users. These include IDEMIA, Gemalto and Supercom. This is in contrast to Ipsidy’s approach which is based on offering apps which are usable on mobile devices with minimal hardware requirements. Furthermore, our identity solutions are designed to address the requirements of private, commercial and governmental uses for enrolled users. 

To further analyze the competitive landscape, the market must be segmented into authentication solution vendors and biometric identification & verification solution providers. Major competitors offering solutions in both areas include IDEMIA, Gemalto, ID.ME, HID Global, Yoti and Aware. Major competitors offering only authentication, include Twillio/Authy, HYPR, Datacard, Duo, Daon, and Trusona. Companies offering only biometric identification & verification include NEC, Imageware, Element, and Veridium.

The Ipsidy identity transaction platform is based on a patent-pending methodology, which combines digital signature authentication and biometric identity verification into a single out-of-band transaction. This provides functionality for our customers to have real-time control over their electronic transactions and every-day events through a mobile application, with a detailed audit trail created for each event, containing the digitally signed transaction details and biometric identity of the user. This patent-pending approach of combining transaction details and identity into a single, digitally signed message could allow the Ipsidy platform to be a complimentary solution to many of its competitors and hence differentiate itself in the market. 

Companies that focused on offerings for ID proofing, include Jumio and Mitek. Companies that provide a single solution may be seeking to combine with authentication and biometric verification technology providers to expand their ID proofing solutions’ capabilities. The Ipsidy platform now offers its own identity proofing service for use in digital onboarding solutions, in conjunction with our biometric authentication and verification solutions. 

Another aspect of the competitive landscape for platform service arises from market demand for SaaS based identity services that are both high assurance and low friction. This combination is the ideal balance that Ipsidy and its competitors are trying to achieve. Companies that are believed to be competing with Ipsidy with their offerings today are Callsign, Gemalto, Danal (acquired by Boku in 2018), Datacard/Entrust, and IDEMIA (Formerly Morpho and Obertur). Ipsidy is seeking to improve its position with respect to these competitors in part through the new facial recognition solution which is currently under development, as part of the technology partnership announced with Ayonix. This is intended to reduce friction in Ipsidy’s Access product offering for physical security by the use of IP cameras to obtain the live capture facial images. In addition, Ipsidy offers its customers the flexibility to adapt its solutions to their specific use cases for either high assurance or to decrease friction. 

With respect to SaaS based services for physical identity access management, the competitive landscape for Ipsidy also includes companies such as HID Global, NEC, and IDEMIA. All of these companies offer a broad range of solutions from complete biometric access control systems to complex biometric e-gate and passenger flow management solutions. Ipsidy’s offering focuses on the SaaS based biometric identity solutions portion of this market, using mobile apps but also offers API integration with hardware suppliers to create competitive solutions. 

There are new entrants into each of these markets continually. Each competitor may have a different offering or approach to solve similar problems, which overlap with those of the Company. Some competitors also include manufacturers who provide systems, or platform solutions to third party operators and, therefore, do not directly compete with the Company, which operates its own systems.

The Cards Plus business faces competition both locally in South Africa and internationally. China has become a source of imports of card products at highly competitive pricing and some local suppliers are reliant on Chinese card manufacturers. Local competitors include Card Technology Services, Easy Card and Open Gate, Cardz Group and XH Smart Technology (Africa). That said, we believe that we are the only significant manufacturer in South Africa using digital print technology. 

The payment processing industry has many competitors who provide gateway services, closed loop end-to-end solutions, payment processing, peer-to-peer payments and bill payments. As these types of services are usually supplied by regional or country specific companies, the following summary of this competitive landscape, is focused on those countries or regions the Company is actively pursuing business in today. In Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America where the Company is focused, major competitors include PayU, Credibanco, Redeban, Mercado Pago, Nequi, and QPagos. Some of these companies may on the other hand be potential customers for our identify transaction platform and biometric authentication services. Companies in this region that also compete in those sectors include Veritran, Certicamaras, Olimpia IT, Evertec-Processa and Indra.

Governmental Regulations

The Company does not need or require any approval from government authorities or agencies in order to operate its regular business and operations. However, it is possible that any proposed expansion to the Company’s business and operations in the future would require government approvals.

Due to the security applications and biometric technology associated with the Company’s products and platforms, the activities and operations of the Company are subject to license restrictions and other regulations, such as (without limitation) export controls and other security regulation by government agencies. Expansion of the Company’s activities in payment processing may in due course require government licensing in different jurisdictions and may subject it to additional regulation and oversight.

Data protection legislation in various countries in which the Company does business (including Colombia and the United Kingdom) may require it to register its databases with governmental authorities in those countries and to comply with additional disclosure and consent requirements with regard to the collection, storage and use of personal information of individuals resident in those countries.

Employees and Organization

The Company, as of December 31, 2018, had a total of approximately 85 employees as well as outsourced service providers that are located in four countries: Colombia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Beginning in 2017, employees in the U.S. started receiving health benefits on a cost sharing basis and employees in Colombia and South Africa are provided the respective Government required benefits. The Company may enhance or offer additional fringe and welfare benefits in the future as the Company’s profits grow and/or the Company secures additional outside financing.

Subsidiaries

Currently, the Company has three U.S. subsidiaries: Innovation in Motion Inc., Fin Holdings, Inc., and ID Solutions Inc. The Company has three subsidiaries in Colombia: MultiPay S.A.S., IDGS LATAM S.A.S., and IDGS S.A.S..The Company has one subsidiary in South Africa: CardsPlus Pty Ltd. The Company has one subsidiary in the United Kingdom: Ipsidy Enterprises Limited. The Company is the sole shareholder of all of its subsidiaries.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

We have a history of losses and we may not be able to achieve profitability going forward.

We have an accumulated deficit of approximately $76.4 million as of December 31, 2018 and incurred an operating loss of approximately $9.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. We have had net losses in most of our quarters since our inception. We expect that we will continue to incur net losses in 2019. We may incur losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the other risks described in this report, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown events. Accordingly, we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Our management is developing plans and executing certain programs to alleviate the negative trends and conditions described above, however there is no guarantee that such plans will be successfully implemented. Our ability to curtail our operating losses or generate a profit may be further impacted by the fact that our business plan is largely unproven. There is no assurance that even if we successfully implement our business plan, that we will be able to curtail our losses. If we incur significant additional operating losses, our stock price may decline, perhaps significantly and the Company will need to raise substantial additional capital in order to be able to continue to operate, which will dilute the existing stockholders and such dilution may be significant. Additional capital may not be available on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all.

We have yet to achieve positive cash flow and, given our projected funding needs, our ability to generate positive cash flow is uncertain.

We have had negative cash flow from operating activities of approximately $6.0 million and approximately $6.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. We anticipate that we will continue to have negative cash flows from operating activities for the foreseeable future as we expect to incur increased research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses. Our business will require significant amounts of working capital to support our growth, particularly as we seek to introduce our new offered products. An inability to generate positive cash flow from operations may adversely affect our ability to raise needed capital for our business on reasonable terms, if at all. It may also diminish supplier or customer willingness to enter into transactions with us, and have other adverse effects that may impact our long-term viability. There can be no assurance we will achieve positive cash flows in the foreseeable future.

We need access to additional financing, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we cannot access additional financing when we need it and on acceptable terms, our business, prospects, financial condition, operating results and ability to continue as a going concern will be adversely affected.

Our growth-oriented business plan to offer products to our customers will require continued capital investment. Our research and development activities will require continued investment. We raised $9.6 million and $12.0 million in 2018 and 2017, respectively, through debt and equity financing at varying terms. In order to implement and grow our operations through December 31, 2019 and achieve an expected annual revenue stream from the introduction of new products which commenced in 2018 and as we expect to continue in 2019 as contemplated in our current business plan, we expect that we will need to raise approximately $5 to $7.5 million. There is no guarantee that our current business plan will not change, and as a result of such change, that we will need additional capital to implement such business plan. Further, assuming we achieve our expected growth plan, of which there is no guarantee, we will need additional capital to implement growth beyond our current business plan.

Our limited operating history makes it difficult for us to evaluate our future business prospects and make decisions based on those estimates of our future performance.

We have been an emerging growth company since beginning operations. We have a limited operating history and have generated limited revenue. As we look to further expand our existing products it is difficult, if not impossible, to forecast our future results based upon our historical data. Because of the uncertainties related to our lack of historical operations, we may be hindered in our ability to anticipate and timely adapt to increases or decreases in revenues or expenses. If we make poor budgetary decisions as a result of unreliable historical data, we could be less profitable or incur losses, which may result in a decline in our stock price.

There can be no assurance that we will successfully commercialize our products that are currently in development or that our existing products will sustain market acceptance.

There is no assurance that we will ever successfully commercialize our platform and related solutions that are under development or that we will experience market reception for our products in development or increased market reception for our existing products. Although our acquisitions have generated revenue, there is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully implement our new products utilizing the acquired technology, products, and customer base. There is no assurance that our existing products or solutions will achieve market acceptance or that our new products or solutions will achieve market acceptance. Further, there can be no guarantee that we will not lose business to our existing or potential new competitors.

We depend upon key personnel and need additional personnel.

Our success depends on the continuing services of Philip D. Beck, CEO, Thomas Szoke, CTO, and Stuart Stoller, CFO, as well as certain other members of the current management team and in 2017 we entered into new employment retention agreements with certain senior executives, including Mr. Beck, Mr. Szoke and Mr. Stoller in order to incentivize them and retain their services. The loss of key management, engineering employees or third party contractors could have a material and adverse effect on our business operations. Additionally, the success of our operations will largely depend upon our ability to successfully attract and maintain competent and qualified key management personnel. As with any company with limited resources, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to attract such individuals or that the presence of such individuals will necessarily translate into profitability for our company. If we are successful in attracting and retaining such individuals, it is likely that our payroll costs and related expenses will increase significantly and that there will be additional dilution to existing stockholders as a result of equity incentives that may need to be issued to such management personnel. Our inability to attract and retain key personnel may materially and adversely affect our business operations. Any failure by our management to effectively anticipate, implement, and manage personnel required to sustain our growth would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Acquisitions present many risks that could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Since 2013, we have closed various acquisitions including Innovations in Motion Inc. in August 2013, Multipay S.A. in April 2015 and FIN Holdings Inc. in February 2016. We may also pursue select acquisitions in the future. The success of our future growth strategy will depend on our ability to integrate our existing operations together with the operations of our acquisitions that we have closed to date as well as any future acquisition of which none are planned at this date. Integrating the operations of our existing operations with our past or future acquisitions, including anticipated cost savings and additional revenue opportunities, involves a number of challenges. The failure to meet these integration challenges could seriously harm our results of operations and the market price of our shares may decline as a result. Realizing the benefits of our past or future acquisition will depend in part on the integration of intellectual property, products, operations, personnel and sales force and the completion of assignments of current and past contracts and rights. These integration activities are complex and time-consuming, and we may encounter unexpected difficulties or incur unexpected costs. We may not successfully integrate the operations of our existing operations, and may not realize the anticipated net reductions in costs and expenses and other benefits and synergies of the acquisition to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated. In addition to the integration risks, we could face numerous other risks, including, but not limited to, the following:

The occurrence of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, particularly in the case of a larger acquisition or concurrent acquisitions.

The market for our products is characterized by changing technology, requirements, standards and products, and we may be adversely affected if we do not respond promptly and effectively to these changes.

The market for our payment processing and identity management products is characterized by evolving technologies, changing industry standards, changing political and regulatory environments, frequent new product introductions and rapid changes in customer requirements. The introduction of products embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices can render existing products obsolete and unmarketable. Our future success will depend on our ability to enhance our existing products and to develop and introduce, on a timely and cost-effective basis, new products and product features that keep pace with technological developments and emerging industry standards and address the increasingly sophisticated needs of our customers. In the future:

If we are unable to respond promptly and effectively to changing technologies and market requirements, we will be unable to compete effectively in the future.

There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify new product opportunities and develop and bring new products to market in a timely manner, or that the products and technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive. The failure of our new product development efforts could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and future growth.

If our technology and solutions cease to be adopted and used by government and public and private organizations, we may lose some of our existing customers and our operations will be negatively affected.

Our ability to grow depends significantly on whether governmental and public and private organizations adopt our technology and solutions as part of their new standards and whether we will be able to leverage our expertise in governmental solutions into commercial solutions. If these organizations do not adopt our technology, we may not be able to penetrate some of the new markets we are targeting, or we may lose some of our existing customer base.

In order for us to achieve our growth objectives, our identity management technologies and solutions must be adapted to and adopted in a variety of areas including, among others, physical access control, computer access control, biometric fingerprint matching and identity card issuance and verification. Further, our payment processing technologies and solutions will need to be adopted by financial institutions, merchants and consumers.

We cannot accurately predict the future growth rate, if any, or the ultimate size of these markets. The growth of the market for our products and services depends on a number of factors such as the cost, performance and reliability of our products and services compared to the products and services of our competitors, customer perception of the benefits of our products and solutions, public perception of the intrusiveness of these solutions and the manner in which organizations use the information collected, customer satisfaction with our products and services and marketing efforts and publicity for our products and services. Our products and services may not adequately address market requirements and may not gain wide market acceptance. If our solutions or our products and services do not gain wide market acceptance, our business and our financial results will suffer.

We have sought in the past and will seek in the future to enter into contracts with governments, as well as state and local governmental agencies and municipalities, which subjects us to certain risks associated with such types of contracts.

Most contracts with governments or with state or local agencies or municipalities, or Governmental Contracts, are awarded through a competitive bidding process, and some of the business that we expect to seek in the future will likely be subject to a competitive bidding process. Competitive bidding presents a number of risks, including:

We may not be afforded the opportunity in the future to bid on contracts that are held by other companies and are scheduled to expire, if the governments, or the applicable state or local agency or municipality determines to extend the existing contract. If we are unable to win particular contracts that are awarded through the competitive bidding process, we may not be able to operate in the market for the products and services that are provided under those contracts for a number of years. If we are unable to win new contract awards or retain those contracts, if any, that we are awarded over any extended period, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.

In addition, Governmental Contracts subject us to risks associated with public budgetary restrictions and uncertainties, actual contracts that are less than awarded contract amounts, the requirement for posting a performance bond and the related cost and cancellation at any time at the option of the governmental agency. Any failure to comply with the terms of any Governmental Contracts could result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, as well as suspension from future contracts for a significant period of time, any of which could adversely affect our business by requiring us to pay significant fines and penalties or prevent us from earning revenues from Governmental Contracts during the suspension period. Cancellation of any one of our major Governmental Contracts could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Governments may be in a position to obtain greater rights with respect to our intellectual property than we would grant to other entities. Governmental agencies also have the power, based on financial difficulties or investigations of their contractors, to deem contractors unsuitable for new contract awards. Because we will engage in the government contracting business, we will be subject to additional regulatory and legal compliance requirements, as well as audits, and may be subject to investigation, by governmental entities. Compliance with such additional regulatory requirements are likely to result in additional operational costs in performing such Governmental Contracts which may impact our profitability. Failure to comply with the terms of any Governmental Contract could result in substantial civil and criminal fines and penalties, as well as suspension from future contracts for a significant period of time, any of which could adversely affect our business by requiring us to pay the fines and penalties and prohibiting us from earning revenues from Governmental Contracts during the suspension period.

Furthermore, governmental programs can experience delays or cancellation of funding and suspension of appropriations for example as occurred with the recent partial United States government , which can be unpredictable; this may make it difficult to forecast our revenues on a quarter-by-quarter basis.

We rely in part on third-party software to develop and provide our solutions.

We rely in part on software licensed from third parties to develop and offer some of our solutions. Any loss of the right to use any such software or other intellectual property required for the development and maintenance of our solutions, or any defects or other issues with such software could result in problems or delays in the provision of our solutions until equivalent technology is either developed by us, or, if available from others, is identified, obtained, and integrated, which could harm our business.

We have historically depended upon a small number of large system sales ranging from $100,000 to $2,000,000 and we may fail to achieve one or more large system sales in the future, or fail to successfully transition to new products generating recurring revenues.

Historically, we have derived a substantial portion of our revenues from a small number of sales of large, relatively expensive systems, typically ranging in price from $100,000 to $2,000,000. If we fail to receive orders for these large systems in a given sales cycle on a consistent basis, our business could be significantly harmed. We are trying to reduce such dependence by developing a range of products and solutions, which are in a lower price range and intended to generate recurring revenue from a large number of customers. The Company has invested heavily in developing and launching such products but there is no guarantee that such efforts will be successful and that a satisfactory return on such investment will be achieved. Further, our quarterly results are difficult to predict because we cannot predict in which quarter, if any, large system sales will occur in a given year, nor when (if at all), or at what rate the ramp in sales of new products will occur. As a result, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our results of operations are not a good indication of our future performance. In some future quarters, our operating results may be below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, in which case the market price of our Common Stock may decrease significantly.

Our efforts to expand our international operations are subject to a number of risks, any of which could adversely reduce our future international sales and increase our losses.

Most of our revenues to date are attributable to sales and business operations in jurisdictions other than the United States. Our international operations could be subject to a number of risks, any of which could adversely affect our future international sales and operating results, including:

Negative developments in any of these areas in one or more countries could result in a reduction in demand for our products, the cancellation or delay of orders already placed, difficulty in collecting receivables, and a higher cost of doing business, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We are exposed to risks in operating in foreign markets, which may make operating in those markets difficult and thereby force us to curtail our business operations.

In conducting our business in foreign countries, we are subject to political, economic, legal, operational and other risks that are inherent in operating in other countries. Risks inherent to operating in other countries range from difficulties in settling transactions in emerging markets to possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls and other restrictive governmental actions. We also face the risk that exchange controls or similar restrictions imposed by foreign governmental authorities may restrict our ability to convert local currency received or held by us in their countries into U.S. dollars or other currencies, or to take those dollars or other currencies out of those countries.

It is possible that countries in which we do or intend to do business, or companies and their principals become subject to sanctions under U.S. law. This would prevent us from doing business with those countries or with those entities or individuals. The Company could be exposed to fines and penalties in the event of breach any applicable sanctions legislation or orders. In addition the Company might be required to suspend or terminate existing contracts in order to comply with such sanctions legislation or orders, which would adversely impact our future revenues and cashflows.

Additionally, we are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, and other laws in the United States and elsewhere that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations in and deal with governments and officials in foreign countries. Our activities in these countries create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of our employees, contractors or customers that could be in violation of various laws, including the FCPA, even though these parties are not always subject to our control. We have implemented safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees, consultants and customers. However, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and our employees, contractors or customers may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or similar laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Breaches of network or information technology security, natural disasters or terrorist attacks could have an adverse effect on our business.

Cyber-attacks or other breaches of network or information technology (IT) security, natural disasters, terrorist acts or acts of war may cause equipment failures or disrupt our systems and operations. We may be subject to attempts to breach the security of our networks and IT infrastructure through cyber-attack, malware, computer viruses and other means of unauthorized access. While we maintain insurance coverage for some of these events, the potential liabilities associated with these events could exceed the insurance coverage we maintain. A failure to protect the privacy of customer and employee confidential data against breaches of network or IT security could result in damage to our reputation. To date, we have not been subject to cyber-attacks or other cyber incidents that we are aware of which, individually or in the aggregate, resulted in a material impact to our operations or financial condition.

For us to further penetrate the marketplace, the marketplace must be confident that we provide effective security protection for national and other secured identification documents and cards and other personally identifiable information or protected personal information, or PII. Although we are not aware that we have experienced any act of sabotage or unauthorized access by a third party of our software or technology to date, if an actual or perceived breach of security occurs in our internal systems or those of our customers, regardless of whether we caused the breach, it could adversely affect the market’s perception of our products and services. This could cause us to lose customers, resellers, alliance partners or other business partners, thereby causing our revenues to decline. If we or our customers were to experience a breach of our internal systems, our business could be severely harmed by adversely affecting the market’s perception of our products and services.

Interruptions, delays in service or defects in our systems could impair the delivery of our services and harm our business.

We depend on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer network systems, software, telecommunications networks, and processing centers, as well as the systems and services of third parties, in order to provide services to our customers. Almost all of our network systems are hosted “in the cloud” by internationally recognized third party service providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Our systems and data centers are vulnerable to damage or interruption from, among other things, fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, terrorist acts, war, unauthorized entry, human error, and computer viruses or other defects. They may also be subject to break-ins, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and similar misconduct. We have security, backup and recovery systems in place, and we are in the process of implementing business continuity plans that will be designed to ensure our systems will not be inoperable. However, there is still a risk that a system outage or data loss may occur which would not only damage our reputation but could also require the payment of penalties or damages to our clients if our systems do not meet certain operating standards. Despite precautions taken at these facilities, the occurrence of a natural disaster or an act of sabotage or terrorism, a decision to close the facilities without adequate notice or other unanticipated problems at these facilities could result in lengthy interruptions in our service. Our property and business interruption insurance may not be applicable or adequate to compensate us for all losses or failures that may occur.

Any damage to, failure of, or defects, bugs or errors in our systems or those of third parties, errors or delays in the processing of payment or other transactions, telecommunications failures or other difficulties could result in loss of revenue, loss of customers, loss of customer and consumer data, harm to our business or reputation, exposure to fraud losses or other liabilities, negative publicity, additional operating and development costs, and diversion of technical and other resources.

Third parties could obtain access to our proprietary information or could independently develop similar technologies.

Despite the precautions we take, third parties may copy or obtain and use our technologies, ideas, know-how and other proprietary information without authorization or may independently develop technologies similar or superior to our technologies. In addition, the confidentiality and non-competition agreements between us and most of our employees, distributors and clients may not provide meaningful protection of our proprietary technologies or other intellectual property in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. If we are not able to successfully defend our industrial or intellectual property rights, we may lose rights to technologies that we need to develop our business, which may cause us to lose potential revenues, or we may be required to pay significant license fees for the use of such technologies. To date, we have relied primarily on a combination of patents, trade secret and copyright laws, as well as nondisclosure and other contractual restrictions on copying, reverse engineering and distribution to protect our proprietary technology.

Our current patents and any patents that we may register in the future may provide only limited protection for our technology and may not be sufficient to provide competitive advantages to us. For example, competitors could be successful in challenging any issued patents or, alternatively, could develop similar or more advantageous technologies on their own or design around our patents. Any inability to protect intellectual property rights in our technology could enable third parties to compete more effectively with us.

In addition, the laws of certain foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Our means of protecting our intellectual property rights in the United States or any other country in which we operate may not be adequate to fully protect our intellectual property rights.

Third parties may assert that we are infringing their intellectual property rights; IP litigation could require us to incur substantial costs even when our efforts are successful.

We may face intellectual property litigation, which could be costly, harm our reputation, limit our ability to sell our products, force us to modify our products or obtain appropriate licenses, and divert the attention of management and technical personnel. Our products employ technology that may infringe on the proprietary rights of others, and, as a result, we could become liable for significant damages and suffer other harm to our business.

We have not been subject to material intellectual property litigation to date. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce any patents we have or may obtain and/or any other intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others, or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity, and we may not prevail in any such future litigation. Litigation, whether or not determined in our favor or settled, could be costly, could harm our reputation and could divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel from normal business operations. In addition, adverse determinations in litigation could result in the loss of our proprietary rights, subject us to significant liabilities, require us to seek licenses from third parties, prevent us from licensing our technology or selling or manufacturing our products, or require us to expend significant resources to modify our products or attempt to develop non-infringing technology, any of which could seriously harm our business.

Our products may contain technology provided to us by third parties. Because we did not develop such technology ourselves, we may have little or no ability to determine in advance whether such technology infringes the intellectual property rights of any other party. Our suppliers and licensors may not be required to indemnify us in the event that a claim of infringement is asserted against us, or they may be required to indemnify us only with respect to intellectual property infringement claims in certain jurisdictions, and/or only up to a maximum amount, above which we would be responsible for any further costs or damages. In addition, we have indemnification obligations to certain parties with respect to any infringement of third-party patents and intellectual property rights by our products. If litigation were to be filed against these parties in connection with our technology, we would be required to defend and indemnify such parties.

Our officers and directors beneficially own a significant portion of our common stock and, as a result, can exercise control over stockholder and corporate actions.

Our officers and directors of the Company currently beneficially own approximately 14.0% of our outstanding common stock, and 20.6% on a fully diluted basis assuming the exercise of both vested and unvested options as well as warrants. As such, they have a significant influence over most matters requiring approval by stockholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on the market price of the Company’s common stock or prevent stockholders from realizing a premium over the market price for their Shares.

We face competition. Some of our competitors have greater financial or other resources, longer operating histories and greater name recognition than we do and one or more of these competitors could use their greater resources and/or name recognition to gain market share at our expense or could make it very difficult for us to establish market share.

The Company has created an identity transaction platform allowing it to onboard customers who wish to deploy Ipsidy’s services and solutions in order to know with biometric certainty who is engaging with them. Ipsidy’s solutions include the ability to verify the identity of a user, via remote identity proofing, then provide physical and digital access, as well as transaction and device authentication, all digitally signed by the user using their identity. The Company’s platform utilizes commodity, consumer grade tablets for customer deployment with users engaging the platform via a corresponding Android or iOS smartphone app.

The Company also offers certain payment processing solutions and smart card products manufacturing and printing. The industry sectors in which these products compete are characterized by rapid change and new entrants. The Company will need to consistently develop and improve its products in order to remain competitive. 

In reviewing the competitors that exist for the Company’s current and planned products and platform services relating to biometric identity solutions, the Company considers a number of factors. Ipsidy’s platform approach offers an Identity as a Service (IDaaS) approach which seeks to combine a number of different elements into a single platform. Ipsidy believes that its full stack platform is exceptional in that it provides a combination of SaaS based identity verification and identification services which cover both physical and digital identity access use cases. The competitive landscape includes several companies that mainly address only one or other area, with some addressing multiple areas independently. However, it is believed that some companies are attempting to create combined identity offerings, similar to Ipsidy’s. 

In looking at our competition, the Company does not consider providers who do not offer a consumer application solution for smartphones, such as the Ipsidy App. Neither do we consider competitors, which are major conglomerates with vertically integrated cybersecurity companies, due to the vast array of services which they offer. Furthermore, some of the competitors which do offer solutions for both digital and physical use cases, are major legacy providers offering hardware heavy solutions principally for governmental users. These include IDEMIA, Gemalto and Supercom. This is in contrast to Ipsidy’s approach which is based on offering apps which are usable on mobile devices with minimal hardware requirements. Furthermore, our identity solutions are designed to address the requirements of private, commercial and governmental uses for enrolled users. 

To further analyze the competitive landscape, the market must be segmented into authentication solution vendors and biometric identification & verification solution providers. Major competitors offering solutions in both areas include IDEMIA, Gemalto, ID.ME, HID Global, Yoti and Aware. Major competitors offering only authentication, include Twillio/Authy, HYPR, Datacard, Duo, Daon, and Trusona. Companies offering only biometric identification & verification include NEC, Imageware, Element, and Veridium.

The Ipsidy identity transaction platform is based on a patent-pending methodology, which combines digital signature authentication and biometric identity verification into a single out-of-band transaction. This provides functionality for our customers to have real-time control over their electronic transactions and every-day events through a mobile application, with a detailed audit trail created for each event, containing the digitally signed transaction details and biometric identity of the user. This patent-pending approach of combining transaction details and identity into a single, digitally signed message could allow the Ipsidy platform to be a complimentary solution to many of its competitors and hence differentiate itself in the market. 

Companies that focused on offerings for ID proofing, include Jumio and Mitek. Companies that provide a single solution may be seeking to combine with authentication and biometric verification technology providers to expand their ID proofing solutions’ capabilities. The Ipsidy platform now offers its own identity proofing service for use in digital onboarding solutions, in conjunction with our biometric authentication and verification solutions. 

Another aspect of the competitive landscape for platform service arises from market demand for SaaS based identity services that are both high assurance and low friction. This combination is the ideal balance that Ipsidy and its competitors are trying to achieve. Companies that are believed to be competing with Ipsidy with their offerings today are Callsign, Gemalto, Danal (acquired by Boku in 2018), Datacard/Entrust, and IDEMIA (Formerly Morpho and Obertur). Ipsidy is seeking to improve its position with respect to these competitors in part through the new facial recognition solution which is currently under development, as part of the technology partnership announced with Ayonix. This is intended to reduce friction in Ipsidy’s Access product by the use of IP cameras to obtain the live capture facial images. In addition, Ipsidy offers its customers the flexibility to adapt its solutions to their specific use cases for either high assurance or to decrease friction. 

With respect to SaaS based services for physical identity access management, the competitive landscape for Ipsidy also includes companies such as HID Global, NEC, and IDEMIA. All of these companies offer a broad range of solutions from complete biometric access control systems to complex biometric e-gate and passenger flow management solutions. Ipsidy’s offering focuses on the SaaS based biometric identity solutions portion of this market, using mobile apps but also offers API integration with hardware suppliers to create competitive solutions. 

There are new entrants into each of these markets continually. Each competitor may have a different offering or approach to solve similar problems, which overlap with those of the Company. Some competitors also include manufacturers who provide systems, or platform solutions to third party operators and, therefore, do not directly compete with the Company, which operates its own systems.

The Cards Plus business faces competition both locally in South Africa and internationally. China has become a source of imports of card products at highly competitive pricing and some local suppliers are reliant on Chinese card manufacturers. Local competitors include Card Technology Services, Easy Card and Open Gate, Cardz Group and XH Smart Technology (Africa). That said, we believe that we are the only significant manufacturer in South Africa using digital print technology. 

The payment processing industry has many competitors who provide gateway services, closed loop end-to-end solutions, payment processing, peer-to-peer payments and bill payments. As these types of services are usually supplied by regional or country specific companies, the following summary of this competitive landscape, is focused on those countries or regions the Company is actively pursuing business in today. In Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America where the Company is focused, major competitors include PayU, Credibanco, Redeban, Mercado Pago, Nequi, and QPagos. Some of these companies may on the other hand be potential customers for our identify transaction platform and biometric authentication services. Companies in this region that also compete in those sectors include Veritran, Certicamaras, Olimpia IT, Evertec-Processa and Indra.

The resources available to our competitors to develop new products and introduce them into the marketplace exceed the resources currently available to us. As a result, our competitors may be able to compete more aggressively and sustain that competition over a longer period of time that we can. This intense competitive environment may require us to make changes in our products, pricing, licensing, services, distribution, or marketing to develop a market position. Each of these competitors has the potential to capture market share in our target markets which could have an adverse effect on our position in our industry and on our business and operating results.

Government regulation could negatively impact the business.

We do not have or require any approval from government authorities or agencies in order to operate our regular business and operations. However, data protection legislation in various countries in which the Company does business (including Columbia and the United Kingdom) may require it to register its databases with governmental authorities in those countries and to comply with additional disclosure and consent requirements with regard to the collection, storage and use of personal information of individuals resident in those countries. To the extent that our business is based on Governmental Contracts, the relevant government authorities will need to approve us as a supplier and the terms of those contracts. However, it is possible that any proposed expansion to our business and operations in the future would require government approvals. Due to the security applications and biometric technology associated with our products and platforms the activities and operations of our company are, or could become subject to license restrictions and other regulations, such as (without limitation) export controls and other security regulation by government agencies. Expansion of our activities in payment processing may in due course require government licensing in different jurisdictions and may subject us to additional regulation and oversight. Aspects of payment processing and related financial services are already subject to legislation and regulations in various jurisdictions. As indicated, “We are exposed to risks in operating in foreign markets” above, the imposition of sanctions on particular countries, entities or individuals would prevent us from doing business with such countries, entities or individuals. If our existing and proposed products become subject to licensing, export control and other regulations, we may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted or amended laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. Our operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations (and amendments thereto) relating to our business or industry.

Some states in the United States have adopted legislation governing the collection, use of, and storage of biometric information and other states are considering such legislation. The widespread adoption of such legislation could result in restrictions on our current or proposed business activities or we may incur increased costs to comply with such regulations.

Our common stock is thinly traded, so you may be unable to sell at or near asking prices or at all if you need to sell your shares to raise money or otherwise desire to liquidate your shares.

Currently, our common stock is quoted on the OTC and future trading volume may be limited by the fact that many major institutional investment funds, including mutual funds, as well as individual investors follow a policy of not investing in OTC stocks and certain major brokerage firms restrict their brokers from recommending OTC stocks because they are considered speculative, volatile and thinly traded. The OTC market is an inter-dealer market much less regulated than the major exchanges and our common stock is subject to abuses, volatility and shorting. Thus, there is currently no broadly followed and established trading market for our common stock. An established trading market may never develop or, if developed, be maintained. Active trading markets generally result in lower price volatility and more efficient execution of buy and sell orders. Absence of an active trading market reduces the liquidity of the shares traded there.

Our stock is considered a penny stock and any investment in our stock will be considered a high-risk investment and subject to restrictions on marketability.

The trading price of our common stock is below $5.00 per share. If the price of the common stock is below such level, trading in our common stock would be subject to the requirements of certain rules promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These rules require additional disclosure by broker-dealers in connection with any trades generally involving any non-NASDAQ equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. Such rules require the delivery, before any penny stock transaction, of a disclosure schedule explaining the penny stock market and the risks associated therewith, and impose various sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell penny stocks to persons other than established customers and accredited investors (generally institutions). For these types of transactions, the broker-dealer must determine the suitability of the penny stock for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transactions before sale. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock, which could impact the liquidity of our common stock.

Our business is subject to changing regulations regarding corporate governance, disclosure controls, internal control over financial reporting and other compliance areas that will increase both our costs and the risk of noncompliance. If we fail to comply with these regulations we could face difficulties in preparing and filing timely and accurate financial reports.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act. Maintaining compliance with these rules and regulations, particularly after we cease to be an emerging growth company, will increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, will make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and may also place increased strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, we will be required to provide attestation that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures by our registered public accounting firm. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that are required to include in our periodic reports filed with the SEC, under Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or the annual auditor attestation reports regarding effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting that we will be required to include in our periodic reports filed with the SEC upon our ceasing to be an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, unless, under the JOBS Act, we meet certain criteria that would require such reports to be included prior to then, under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of shares of our common stock.

In order to maintain the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting going forward, we will need to expend significant resources and provide significant management oversight. There is a substantial effort involved in continuing to implement appropriate processes, document our system of internal control over relevant processes, assess their design, remediate any deficiencies identified and test their operation. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. These efforts will also involve substantial accounting-related costs. We may experience difficulty in meeting these reporting requirements in a timely manner.

If we are unable to maintain key controls currently in place or that we implement in the future and pending such implementation, or if any difficulties are encountered in their implementation or improvement, (1) our management might not be able to certify, and our independent registered public accounting firm might not be able to report on, the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, which would cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, (2) misstatements in our financial statements may occur that may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis and (3) we may be deemed to have significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may require specific compliance training of our directors, officers and employees, entail substantial costs in order to modify our existing accounting systems, and take a significant period of time to complete. Such changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls, and any failure to maintain that adequacy, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and could materially impair our ability to operate our business. In the event that we are not able to demonstrate compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, our internal controls are perceived as inadequate or that we are unable to produce timely or accurate financial statements, our stock price could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to “emerging growth companies” will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we expect to take advantage of certain exemptions and relief from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies.” In particular, while we are an “emerging growth company” (1) we will not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (2) we will be exempt from any rules that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board requiring mandatory audit firm rotations or a supplement to the auditor’s report on financial statements, (3) we will be subject to reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (4) we will not be required to hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation or stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

In addition, we are eligible to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards apply to private companies, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. The Company has adopted and will be adopting all standards as they have become effective for public companies.

We also take advantage of reduced disclosure requirements, including regarding executive compensation. If we remain an “emerging growth company” in the future, we may take advantage of other exemptions, including the exemptions from the advisory vote requirements and executive compensation disclosures under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Customer Protection Act, and the exemption from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may remain an “emerging growth company” until (1) the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30, in which case we would cease to be an “emerging growth company” as of the following December 31, (2) our gross revenue exceeds $1 billion in any fiscal year, (3) we issue more than $1 billion in nonconvertible notes in any three-year period or (4) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common equity securities pursuant to an effective registration statement.

The exact implications of the JOBS Act are still subject to interpretations and guidance by the SEC and other regulatory agencies, and we cannot assure that we will be able to take advantage of all of the benefits of the JOBS Act. In addition, investors may find our common stock less attractive if we rely on the exemptions and relief granted by the JOBS Act. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may decline and/or become more volatile.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

The Company’s headquarters as of February 15, 2019 and as of the date of this report are located in Long Beach, New York where the Company currently leases office space. The facilities in Long Beach, New York are owned by Bridgeworks LLC, a company providing office facilities to emerging companies principally owned by Mr. Beck and his family. The arrangement with Bridgeworks LLC allows the Company to use certain office services for a fixed, monthly fee of $7,425. The arrangement with Bridgeworks LLC is terminable upon 30 days’ notice.

Previously, the Company’s headquarters was located in Longwood, Florida, which the Company utilized until August 1, 2017, the date in which the Company provided a termination notice to the landlord. The monthly rent at the time of termination was $3,800. The monthly payments included all taxes and building maintenance charges.

The Company entered into an office lease in Plantation, Florida beginning July 1, 2017 for approximately 2,100 square feet. Monthly rent will approximate $2,600 per month for thirty-seven months with a 3% increase on each subsequent annual anniversary. The Company will be responsible for their respective share of building expenses.

In October 2018, the Company a sublease entered into an office lease in Alpharetta, Ga. for approximately $3,800 per month through March 31, 2020 or through the termination of the master lease.

MultiPay S.A.S. leases space in Bogotá, Colombia. In April 2017, MultiPay S.A.S. entered into a lease beginning April 22, 2017 for two years. The rent is approximately $9,000 per month with an inflation adjustment after one year. The lease was extended for one additional year.

IDGS S.A.S. had a warehouse located in Bogotá, Colombia for approximately $ 2,900 per month. The lease for the warehouse was terminated on February 28, 2018.

Cards Plus leases its office and production facility in a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The location consists of approximately 39,500 square feet. The current lease is through June 30, 2022 at an approximate rent of $8,000 per month.

We believe our facilities are in good operating condition and that our facilities are adequate for present and near term uses.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time the Company is a party to various legal or administrative proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business. While any litigation contains an element of uncertainty, we have no reason to believe that the outcome of such proceedings will have a material adverse effect on the financial condition or results of operations of the Company.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable. 

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

The high and low per share closing sales prices of the Company’s stock on the OTC Markets (ticker symbol: IDTY) for each quarter for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 were as follows:

Holders of our Common Stock

As of February 15, 2019, there were approximately 210 stockholders of record of our common stock. This number does not include shares held by brokerage clearing houses, depositories or others in unregistered form. The stock transfer agent for our securities is Globex Transfer, LLC, 780 Deltona Blvd., Suite 202, Deltona, Florida 32725.

Dividends

The Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its common stock. The Company currently intends to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the expansion of its business. As a result, the Company does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The Company has adopted the Ipsidy Inc. 2014 Equity Compensation Plan and the 2017 Incentive Stock Plan. The Company has no other stock options plans in effect as of December 31, 2018.

On November 21, 2014, our Board of Directors authorized the Ipsidy Inc. Equity Compensation Plan (the “2014 Plan”). On September 28, 2017, the shareholders of the Company approved the 2017 Incentive Stock Plan (“2017 Incentive Plan”). The following is a summary of principal features of the 2014 Plan and the 2017 Incentive Plan. The summaries, however, does not purport to be a complete description of all the provisions of each plan.

The 2014 Plan covers 25,000,000 shares of common stock and the 2017 Incentive Plan covers 70,000,000 shares of common stock. Both plans are administered by the Compensation Committee.

Under each plan, options may be granted which are intended to qualify as Incentive Stock Options (“ISOs”) under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) or which are not (“Non-ISOs”) intended to qualify as Incentive Stock Options thereunder. Other types of equity awards may also be granted under each of the plans include but are not limited to restricted stock, restricted stock units, and stock appreciation rights, which together with the ISO’s and Non-ISO’s are hereinafter collectively referred to as “Awards”. Each of the plans are not considered qualified deferred compensation plan under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).

The terms of Awards granted under the plans shall be contained in an agreement between the participant and the Company and such terms shall be determined by the Compensation Committee consistent with the provisions of the applicable plan. The terms of Awards may or not require a performance condition in order to vest the equity comprised in the relevant Award. The terms of each Option granted shall be contained in a stock option agreement between the optionee and the Company and such terms shall be determined by the Compensation Committee consistent with the provisions of the applicable plan

Any option granted under either of the plans must provide for an exercise price of not less than 100% of the fair market value of the underlying shares on the date of grant, but the exercise price of any ISO granted to an eligible employee owning more than 10% of our outstanding common stock must not be less than 110% of fair market value on the date of the grant. The plan further provides that with respect to ISOs the aggregate fair market value of the common stock underlying the options which are exercisable by any option holder during any calendar year cannot exceed $100,000. The term of each plan option and the manner in which it may be exercised is determined by the board of directors or the compensation committee, provided that no option may be exercisable more than 10 years after the date of its grant and, in the case of an incentive option granted to an eligible employee owning more than 10% of the common stock, no more than five years after the date of the grant. In the event of any stock split of our outstanding common stock, the board of directors in its discretion may elect to maintain the stated amount of shares reserved under the plan without giving effect to such stock split. Subject to the limitation on the aggregate number of shares issuable under the plan, there is no maximum or minimum number of shares as to which a stock grant or plan option may be granted to any person.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

On January 31, 2017, the Company entered into an Executive Retention Agreement pursuant to which the Company granted Mr. Beck Stock Options to acquire 15,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 per share for a period of ten years. Further, upon the Company being legally entitled to do so, the Company has agreed to enter a Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement with Mr. Beck pursuant to which Mr. Beck will purchase 15,000,000 shares of common stock at a per share price of $0.0001, which shares of common stock vest upon achieving various milestones. On September 28, 2017, as a result of the increase in the Company’s authorized shares of common stock, the Company and Mr. Beck entered into the Restricted Stock Agreement. The Stock Options vest with respect to (i) one-third of the shares of common stock upon January 31, 2017 and (ii) in 24 equal monthly tranches commencing on the grant date.

On January 31, 2017, the Company entered into an Executive Retention Agreement pursuant to which Mr. Stoller agreed to serve as Chief Financial Officer pursuant to which the Company granted Mr. Stoller Stock Options to acquire 5,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 per share for a period of ten years. Further, upon the Company being legally entitled to do so, the Company has agreed to enter a Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement with Mr. Stoller pursuant to which Mr. Stoller will purchase 5,000,000 shares of common stock at a per share price of $0.0001, which shares of common stock vest upon achieving various milestones. On September 28, 2017, as a result of the increase in the Company’s authorized shares of common stock, the Company and Mr. Stoller entered into the Restricted Stock Agreement. The Stock Options vest with respect to (i) one-third of the shares of common stock upon the one year anniversary of the grant date and (ii) in 24 equal monthly tranches commencing on the one-year anniversary of the grant date.

On January 31, 2017, the Company entered into Conversion Agreements with several accredited investors (the “Investors”) pursuant to which each of the Investors agreed to convert all amounts of debt accrued and payable to such person including interest under the terms of their respective financing or loan agreement as of January 31, 2017 into shares of the Company’s common stock at $0.10 per share provided that certain Investors that had a conversion price less than $0.10 converted at such applicable conversion price. The Conversion Agreements resulted in the conversion of an aggregate of $6,331,000 debt and accrued interest into 84,822,006 shares of the Company’s common stock. Certain Investors also agreed to waive any existing rights with respect to certain anti-dilution rights contained in their Stock Purchase Warrants. The Company agreed to reduce the exercise of all outstanding Stock Purchase Warrants acquired as part of a financing or loan that had an exercise price more than $0.10 per share to $0.10 per share.

On January 31, 2017, the Company entered and closed a Securities Purchase Agreement with the Theodore Stern Revocable Trust (the “Stern Trust”) pursuant to which the Stern Trust invested an aggregate of $3,000,000 into the Company in consideration of a Promissory Note (the “Stern Note”) and 4,500,000 shares of common stock. The Stern Note is payable two years from the date of issuance and bears interest of 10% per annum, which compounds annually. The Company and the Stern Trust agreed to extend the due date of the Stern Note until April 30, 2020 for an extension fee of 1,500,000 shares of Common Stock. The Stern Note may be prepaid in whole or in part by the Company at any time without penalty; provided, that any partial payment of principal must be accompanied by payment of accrued interest to the date of prepayment. The Stern Trust may convert interest payable under the Stern Note into shares of common stock of the Company at a conversion price of $0.20 per share. The Company is required to repay all outstanding principal and accrued but unpaid interest on this Note upon the Company (including any of its subsidiaries) closing on financing that, individually or collectively, generates gross proceeds equal to or more than $15,000,000. On August 9, 2018, the Company prepaid $1,000,000 of principal of the Stern Note plus the related accrued interest of approximately $158,000. Mr. Theodore Stern who became a director of the Company in September 2017, is the trustee of the Stern Trust.

On March 22, 2017, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with several accredited investors (the “March 2017 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the March 2017 Accredited Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $4,000,000 or a per share price of $0.20. In connection with this private offering, the Company paid Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (“Network 1”), a registered broker-dealer, a cash fee of $240,000 and agreed to issue Network 1,000,000 shares of common stock upon increasing its authorized shares of common stock.

On September 29, 2017, the Company issued to the CEO and CFO in connection with their Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements 15,000,000 and 5,000,000 shares of common stock.   

On December 18, 2017, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with accredited investors (the “December 2017 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the December 2017 Accredited Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of approximately 38,461,500 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $5,000,000. In connection with this private offering, the Company agreed to pay Network 1, a registered broker-dealer, a cash fee of $350,000 and issue common stock purchase warrants to acquire 1,153,846 shares of common stock of the Company exercisable for a term of five years at an exercise price of $0.143 per share.

During 2017 and 2018, the Company issued approximately 594,000 and 457,000 shares of common stock to a service provider in satisfaction of approximately $140,000 and $97,000 due for services.

During the year ended 2018, the Company granted approximately 2,455,000 shares of restricted stock to the non-employee Directors in connection with their compensation to serve as Board Members. The shares were valued at the fair value at the date of grant and vest quarterly. The restricted shares granted to the Board Member for compensation is for the period November 1, 2017 to October 31, 2019. Additionally, during the year ended 2018, the Company granted 2,750,000 shares of restricted stock to employees of which 2,000,000 will be vested upon achieving certain performance criteria and 750,000 will vest over a three-year period.

During 2018, investors exercised 4,433,333 warrants at an average price of $0.05 cents per share on a cashless exercise basis in exchange for shares of common stock of the Company and option holders exercised 3,174,992 options on a cashless basis in exchange for shares of common stock.

In August 2018, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with accredited investors (the “August 2018 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the August 2018 Accredited Investors agree to purchase an aggregate of approximately 64,072,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $9,611,000. In connection with this private offering, the Company paid Network 1, a registered broker-dealer, a cash fee of approximately $629,000 and issued approximately 2,470,000 common stock purchase warrants valued at approximately $314,000 that are exercisable for a term of five years at an exercise price of $0.165 per share.  

All the offers and sales of securities listed above were made to accredited investors. The issuance of the above securities is exempt from the registration requirements under Rule 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and/or Rule 506 as promulgated under Regulation D.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

As a smaller reporting company, the Company is not required to file selected financial data.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate estimates and judgments, including those described in greater detail below. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

As used in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation,” except where the context otherwise requires, the term “we,” “us,” “our,” or “the Company,” refers to the business of Ipsidy Inc.

Overview

Ipsidy Inc. together with its subsidiaries (the “Company”, “we” or “our”), is a provider of secure, biometric identification, identity management and electronic transaction processing services. In a world that is increasingly digital and mobile, our vision offer solutions that enable our customers to know with biometric certainty the identity of the people with whom they are engaging..

We have developed an identity transaction platform for our customers, be they businesses, residences, houses of worship, or other organizations, to enable their users to more easily authenticate their identity to a mobile phone or portable device of their choosing (as opposed to dedicated hardware). Our system enables participants to complete transactions with a digitally signed authentication response, including the underlying transaction data and embedded attributes of the participant’s identity. In this way our systems can provide pre-transaction authentication of identity as well as embed each user’s identity attributes, within every electronic transaction message processed through our platform, or other electronic systems.

The Company’s products focus on the broad requirement for identity authentication and access and transaction controls and associated identity management needs. Organizations of all descriptions require cost-effective and secure mobile electronic solutions for themselves and their customers. We aim to offer our customers solutions that can be integrated into each customer’s business and organizational operations in order to facilitate their use and enhance the end user customer experience.

Ipsidy Inc. (formerly ID Global Solutions Corporation) (formerly IIM Global Corporation) (formerly Silverwood Acquisition Corporation) was incorporated on September 21, 2011 under the laws of the State of Delaware to engage in any lawful corporate undertaking, including, but not limited to, selected mergers and acquisitions. Ipsidy has been in the developmental stage since inception.

The Company’s headquarters are in Long Beach, New York.

Key Trends

We believe that our financial results will be impacted by several market trends in the identity management security and transaction processing marketplace, including growing concerns over identity theft and fraud, security of officers, residences, places of worship and other public places and the increase in electronic payments, solutions provided by non-bank entities. The key drivers for these alternative payment methods are consumer demands for safe, convenient payment transactions, with less friction. Other drivers are the gaps in the existing value propositions offered by the banks and non-banks mainly because of legacy systems and regulatory constraints, which can stifle innovation and the inability of many consumers to access the banks traditional payment services. Our results are also impacted by the changes in levels of spending on identity management and security methods, and thus, negative trends in the global economy and other factors which negatively impact such spending may negatively impact the growth our revenue from those products. The global economy has been undergoing a period of political and economic uncertainty and stock markets are experiencing high levels of volatility, and it is difficult to predict how long this uncertainty and volatility will continue.

We plan to grow our business by increasing the use of our services by our existing customers, by adding new customers by expanding into new markets and innovation. If we are successful in these efforts, we would expect our revenue to continue to grow. In addition, based on the positive trends in the international payment processing industry noted above, we anticipate that as and when more payments are made using electronic and mobile methods, such as those that we offer, our revenue would also increase.

Going Concern

The Company has an accumulated deficit of approximately $76.4 million as of December 31, 2018. The Company’s continuation as a going concern is dependent on its ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet its obligations, which it has not been able to accomplish to date, and/or obtain additional financing from its stockholders and/or other third parties.

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which implies the Company will continue to meet its obligations and continue its operations for the next fiscal year. The continuation of the Company as a going concern is dependent upon financial support from its stockholders, the ability of the Company to obtain necessary equity or debt financing to continue operations, successfully locating and negotiating with other business entities for potential acquisition and /or acquiring new clients to generate revenues. Although the Company has been successful in raising capital, additional financing or improvement in operations is not assured. In August 2018, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with accredited investors (the “August 2018 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the August 2018 Accredited Investors purchased an aggregate of approximately 64.1 million shares of Common Stock at $0.15 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $9.6 million. In the last two years through December 31, 2018 the Company has raised approximately $22 million through equity and debt financing.

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which implies the Company will continue to meet its obligations and continue its operations for the next fiscal year. The continuation of the Company as a going concern is dependent upon financial support from its stockholders, the ability of the Company to obtain necessary equity or debt financing to continue operations, successfully locating and negotiating with other business entities for potential acquisition and /or acquiring new clients to generate revenues. Although the Company has been successful in raising capital, additional financing or improvement in operations is not assured.

In order to further implement its business plan and satisfy its working capital requirements, the Company will need to raise additional capital. There is no guarantee that the Company will be able to raise additional equity or debt financing at acceptable terms, if at all.

There is no assurance that the Company will ever be profitable. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classifications of liabilities that may result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in the notes to our consolidated financial statements. Those material accounting estimates that we believe are the most critical to an investor’s understanding of our financial results and condition are discussed immediately below and are particularly important to the portrayal of our financial position and results of operations and require the application of significant judgment by our management to determine the appropriate assumptions to be used in the determination of certain estimates.

Use of Estimates

In preparing these consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates and assumptions included in our consolidated financial statements relate to the valuation of long-lived assets, accruals for potential liabilities, and valuation assumptions related to derivative liabilities, equity instruments and share based payments.

Revenue Recognition

An entity recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.

Revenue from the sale of unique secure credential products and solutions to customers is recorded at the completion of the project unless the solution includes benefits to the end user in which additional resources or services are required to be provided.

Revenue from cloud-based services arrangements that allow for the use of a hosted software product or service that are provided on a consumption basis (for example, the number of transactions processed over a period of time) is recognized commensurate with the customer utilization of such resources. Generally, the contract calls for a minimum number of transactions to be charged by the Company monthly. Accordingly, the Company records as revenue the minimum transactional fee based on the passage of a month’s time. Amounts more than the monthly minimum, are charged to customers based on the actual number of transactions.

Consulting services revenue is recognized as services are rendered, generally based on the negotiated hourly rate in the consulting arrangement and the number of hours worked during the period. Consulting revenue for fixed-price services arrangements is recognized as services are provided.

Financing revenue related to direct financing leases is recognized over the term of the lease using the effective interest rate method.

Accounts Receivable

All customers are granted credit on a short-term basis and related credit risks are considered minimal. The Company routinely reviews its trade receivables and makes provisions for probable doubtful accounts; however, those provisions are estimates and actual results could differ from those estimates and those differences may be material. Trade receivables are deemed uncollectible and removed from accounts receivable and the allowance for doubtful accounts when collection efforts have been exhausted. At December 31, 2018 and 2017 no allowance for doubtful accounts was necessary.

Inventories

Inventories of kiosks held by IDGS S.A.S are stated at the lower of cost (using the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value. The kiosks provide electronic ticketing for transit systems. Inventory of plastic/ID cards, digital printing material, which are held by Cards Plus Pty Ltd., are at the lower of cost (using the average method) or market. The Plastic/ID cards and digital printing material are used to provide loyal ID and other types of cards. Inventories at December 31, 2018 and 2017 consist of cards inventory and kiosks that have not been placed into service. Any adjustments to reduce the cost of inventories to their net realizable value are recognized in earnings in the current period. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company recorded an inventory valuation allowance of approximately $700,000 and $350,000, respectively, to reflect the net realizable value of kiosks to $0, which will not be placed into service and are currently held for sale.

Property and Equipment, net

Property and equipment consist of furniture and fixtures and computer equipment, and are stated at cost. Property and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of three to five years. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred and improvements are capitalized. Gains or losses on the disposition of property equipment are recorded upon disposal.

Other Assets - Software Development Costs

Other assets consist primarily of costs associated with software development of new product offerings and enhancements to existing applications. Research & development costs are expensed as incurred. Development costs of computer software to be sold, leased or otherwise marketed are subject to capitalization beginning when a product’s technological feasibility has been established and ending when a product is available for general release to customers. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the software is still under development and has not been placed in service. Upon completion, the amounts will be recorded in the appropriate asset category and expensed over their estimated useful lives. During 2018, approximately $680,000 of the software development costs were placed into service and are classified as internally developed software.

Intangible Assets

Excluding goodwill, acquired intangible assets and internally developed software are amortized over their estimated useful lives. Acquired amortizing intangible assets are carried at cost, less accumulated amortization. Internally developed software costs are capitalized upon reaching technological feasibility.

Goodwill

Goodwill is recorded when the purchase price paid for an acquisition exceeds the fair value of net identified tangible and intangible assets acquired. The Company performs an annual impairment test of goodwill and further periodic tests to the extent indicators of impairment develop between annual impairment tests. The Company’s impairment review process compares the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value, including the goodwill related to the reporting unit utilizing qualitative considerations. To determine the fair value of the reporting unit, the Company may use various approaches including an asset or cost approach, market approach or income approach or any combination thereof. These approaches may require the Company to make certain estimates and assumptions including future cash flows, revenue and expenses. These estimates and assumptions are reviewed each time the Company tests goodwill for impairment and are typically developed as part of the Company’s routine business planning and forecasting process. While the Company believes its estimates and assumptions are reasonable, variations from those estimates could produce materially different results. The Company did not recognize any goodwill impairments for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset.

If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its undiscounted estimated future cash flows, an impairment review is performed. An impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. Generally fair value is determined using valuations techniques such as expected discounted cash flows or appraisals, as appropriate. Assets to be disposed of would be separately presented in the balance sheet and reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell,and are no longer depreciated. The assets and liabilities of a disposed group classified as held for sale would be presented separately in the appropriate asset and liability sections of the balance sheet.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs consist of expenditures for the research and development of new products and technology. These costs are primarily expenses to vendors contracted to perform research projects and develop technology for the Company’s products. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The standard’s core principle is that a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This standard also includes expanded disclosure requirements that result in an entity providing users of financial statements with comprehensive information about the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from the entity’s contracts with customers. This standard was effective for the calendar year ending December 31, 2018. The Company has reviewed its revenue streams for the current reporting periods and has determined the impact for the new revenue standard (Topic 606) is insignificant.

The Company anticipates that with the evolution of its revenue and operations in 2018, the new revenue standard application will require additional disclosure and reporting. Although the new revenue standard is comprehensive, certain considerations of new contractual arrangements in 2018 will be reviewed on a contract by contract basis as our software (intellectual property) could be a right to use or access, include multiple elements, and certain costs could be capitalized if they meet the criteria of incremental costs of obtaining or fulfilling a contract, etc.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2017-02, Leases. The standard requires all leases with lease terms over 12 months to be capitalized as a right-of-use asset and lease liability on the balance sheet at the date of lease commencement. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating. This distinction will be relevant for the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. This standard will be effective for the calendar year ending December 31, 2019. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this ASU on the financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2017-04, “Intangibles-Goodwill and Other: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment” (ASU 2017-04). The standard simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the amendments of ASU 2017-04, an entity should perform its goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity will recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, but the loss cannot exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 is effective for the calendar year ending December 31, 2020. The amendments require a prospective approach to adoption and early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests. The company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses. The standard requires a financial asset (including trade receivables) measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. Thus, the income statement will reflect the measurement of credit losses for newly-recognized financial assets as well as the expected increases or decreases of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period. This standard will be effective for the calendar year ending December 31, 2021. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this ASU on the financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07,1 which simplifies the accounting for share-based payments granted to nonemployees for goods and services. Under the ASU, most of the guidance on such payments to nonemployees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees. Currently, share-based payment arrangements to nonemployees are accounted for under ASC 718,3 while nonemployee share-based payments issued for goods and services are accounted for under ASC 505-50. ASC 505-50. Before the amendment, the major difference for the Company (but not limited to) was the determination of measurement date which generally is the date on which the measurement of equity classified share-based payments becomes fixed. Equity classified share-based payments for employees was fixed at the time of grant. Equity-classified nonemployee share-based payment awards are no longer measured at the earlier of the date which a commitment for performance by the counterparty is reached or the date at which the counterparty’s performance is complete. They are now measured at the grant date of the award which is the same as share-based payments for employees. The Company will adopt the requirements of the new rule in the first quarter of 2019 and the Company estimates the impact will be immaterial.

Adjusted EBITDA

This discussion includes information about Adjusted EBITDA that is not prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure is included below.

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents GAAP net income (loss) adjusted to exclude (1) interest expense, (2)  interest income, (3) provision for income taxes, (4) depreciation and amortization, (5) stock-based compensation expense (stock options and restricted stock) and (6) certain other items management believes affect the comparability of operating results.

Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with our results under GAAP and the accompanying reconciliations, provides useful information about our period-over-period results. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because management believes it provides additional information with respect to the performance of our fundamental business activities and is also frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of comparable companies. We also rely on Adjusted EBITDA as a primary measure to review and assess the operating performance of our company and our management, and it will be a focus as we invest in and grow the business. Additionally, we used Adjusted EBITDA in connection with our executive compensation in 2018.

Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation from, or as a substitute for, analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

Because of these limitations, adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA only as a supplement to our GAAP results.

The increase in Adjusted EBITDA loss in 2018 compared to 2017 is principally due to the Company’s investment in technical and operating resources required to provide the support for future operations, in addition to incurring a charge of $0.5 million recorded principally for a valuation reserve related to kiosks, offset by revenue earned from the sale of our AFIS and Identity Management System to ZEC.

Results of Operations and Financial Condition for the Year Ended December 31, 2018 as Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2017

Revenues

For the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to December 31, 2017, the Company increased revenue by $1.5 million to $3.8 million from $2.3 million. The increase in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018 is principally due to the revenue recognized under the contract for the AFIS system and services for ZEC.

Cost of sales

During the year ended December 31, 2018 cost of sales increased to $1.3 million from $0.6 million compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 principally due to the costs associated with the delivery of services and systems for ZEC. Cost of sales was lower as a percentage of revenue as production efficiency improved following the installation of new equipment at CardsPlus.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2018 excluding cost of sales decreased by approximately $1.8 million as compared to the same period in 2017 due primarily to a decrease in stock-based compensation expense offset by higher staff and consulting expenses that were added to support current and future operations with a focus on technology. The Company will continue to grow the expense base judiciously to support future opportunities while controlling and/or eliminating certain other expenditures.

Depreciation and amortization expense remained consistent during the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to December 31, 2017.

During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company wrote-off assets that are no longer being used and we do not expect to use in future operations. The asset net values were approximately $149,000 and $216,000 in 2018 and 2017, respectively. The write-off is included in research and development.

Interest Expense

Interest expense decreased during the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the year ended December 31, 2017 due to the lower levels of average debt outstanding due to the debt for equity conversion in the first quarter of 2017.

Other Income (Expense)

In the first quarter of 2017, the Company entered into certain agreements pursuant to which the investors agreed to waive any existing rights with respect to certain price protection and anti-dilution rights contained in their debt and Stock Purchase Warrants. Therefore, as a result of the conversion and repayment of the outstanding indebtedness and related accrued interest as well as the elimination of anti-dilution rights of Stock Purchase Warrants, the Company no longer holds liabilities with derivatives requiring fair value as of December 31, 2018. As a result of these agreements, the Company recorded a net charge of approximately $4.1 million in 2017. See notes 7 and 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2018, current assets were $5.8 million and current liabilities outstanding amounted $1.6 million which resulted in net working capital of $4.2 million.

Net cash used by operating activities was $6.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $6.5 million in 2017. Cash used in operations for 2018 and 2017 was the primarily result of funding the business operations as the Company invests in people, product and infrastructure of a developing business.

Net cash used in investing activities in 2018 was approximately $1.4 million compared to net cash provided by investing activities in 2017 of $0.9 million. The 2018 and 2017 cash used was principally related to investing in the platform to provide products and services.

Net cash provided by financing activities for 2018 and 2017 was approximately $7.9 million and $11.2 million, which consisted primarily of the net proceeds from the sale of common stock in 2018 and 2017. In 2017 also secured funds form the issuance of a note payable.

Description of Indebtedness

As described in Item 1A, (Risk Factors) the Company has a history of losses and may not be able to achieve profitability in the near term. The Company has not been able to achieve positive cash flows from operations and raised additional financing from equity financing and a promissory note payable. The promissory note payable is at an annual interest rate of 10%.

On January 31, 2017, the Company converted the outstanding debt and accrued interest of approximately $6.3 million into approximately 84.8 million shares of common stock, at a conversion price of $0.10 per share unless such shares were initially priced at less than the $0.10 per share. Additionally, the exercise price of approximately 11.7 million warrants to acquire shares of Common Stock were reduced to $.10 per share and certain price protection and anti-dilution provisions were removed. See Notes 7 and 8 related to the Company’s conversion of debt and outstanding note payable.

Additionally, on January 31, 2017, the Company entered and closed a Securities Purchase Agreement with the Stern Trust pursuant to which the Stern Trust invested an aggregate of $3,000,000 into the Company in consideration of the Stern Note and 4,500,000 shares of common stock. The Stern Note bears interest of 10% per annum, which compounds annually.  The Company and the Stern Trust agreed to extend the due date of the Stern Note until April 30, 2020 for an extension fee of 1,500,000 shares of Common Stock at a fair market value of $420,000. On August 9, 2018, the Company prepaid $1,000,000 of principal of the Stern Note plus the related accrued interest of approximately $158,000.

Equity Financing

On March 22, 2017, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with several accredited investors (the “March 2017 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the March 2017 Accredited Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $4,000,000.

On December 18, 2017, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with accredited investors (the “December 2017 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the December 2017 Accredited Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of approximately 38.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $5,000,000. In connection with this private offering, the Company agreed to pay Network 1, a registered broker-dealer, a cash fee of $350,000 and issued common stock purchase warrants to acquire 1,153,846 shares of common stock of the Company exercisable for a term of five years at an exercise price of $0.143 per share.

In August, 2018, the Company entered into Subscription Agreements with accredited investors (the “August 2018 Accredited Investors”) pursuant to which the August 2018 Accredited Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of approximately 63.9 million shares of Common Stock at $0.15 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $9.6 million. The Theodore Stern Revocable Trust (the “Stern Trust”) invested $1 million in this round. Mr. Theodore Stern is a director of the Company, is the trustee of the Stern Trust.

In 2019, the Company will continue to be opportunistic as well as judicious in raising additional funds to support its operations and investments as it creates a sustainable organization. There is no guarantee that such financing will be available if available on acceptable terms. In order to implement and grow our operations through December 31, 2019 as contemplated in our current business plan, we expect that we will need to raise approximately $5 to $7.5 million. There is no guarantee that our current business plan will not change and, as a result of such change, that we will need additional capital to implement such business plan.

For a complete description of the outstanding debt as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, see Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2018, the total promissory notes payable is $ 1.9 million ($2.0 million gross), which consist of borrowings, net of discounts and deferred charges.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet financing arrangements.

Contractual Obligations

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had the following long-term debt obligations.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and the report of our independent registered public accounting firm, are set forth on pages F-1 through F-23 of this report.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

As of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act. Based on the evaluation and the identification of the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting described below, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2018, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Except as set forth above, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our last fiscal year that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None. 

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance;

The current Directors and Officers of the Company are as follows:

Philip D. Beck.

Philip was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Ipsidy Inc. in February 2017. Prior to joining Ipsidy, Philip founded Planet Payment Inc., a leading international payment processing platform doing business in 24 countries (formerly Nasdaq: PLPM) and served as its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President from 1999-2015. Philip has also served as a director of Bluefin Payment Systems from 2013 to 2014, managing member of Parity Labs, a private consulting firm and with his son cofounded the Bridgeworks co-working facility in NY. Philip is an Attorney admitted to practice in NY, and as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court in England and Wales and the British Virgin Islands. Philip previously worked in private practice as an international corporate lawyer for almost 17 years and founded a number of startups prior to Planet Payment.

Herbert Selzer

Herbert Selzer serves as an Independent Director of the Company. Mr. Selzer is an attorney based on New York, New York with a focus in corporate, international estate planning, trust and estates and wealth management. Mr. Selzer has been with Loeb, Block & Partners LLP since 1972 and became a partner in 1978. Prior to 1972, Mr. Selzer was employed by Ernst & Young. Mr. Selzer holds a BS Economics from Brooklyn College, a JD from George Washington University Law Center, an LLM in Taxation from New York University Law School.

Ricky Solomon

Ricky Solomon serves as an Independent Director of the Company. From 1983 to 1998 Mr. Solomon held several positions at Wechsler & Co. (“Wechsler”), a broker dealer focused on convertible securities. During his tenure Mr. Solomon became a partner and a managing director in charge of trading at Wechsler. After spending 15 years at Wechsler, Mr. Solomon joined Paloma as a portfolio manager where he ran a convertible arbitrage book as well as a long short equity book focused on technology stocks from 1998 to 2000.

In 2000, Mr. Solomon became a founding partner of Amaranth, a multi-strategy market neutral hedge fund that grew to almost $10 billion in assets by 2006. There, Mr. Solomon ran global convertible arbitrage and a long short equity book and he was also was a member of the executive committee until leaving Amaranth in 2006. Mr. Solomon joined Verition, another multi- strategy market neutral fund, in 2008 and remained there until 2014. Mr. Solomon joined Tripoint Global Equities from 2016 through mid-2017. Through the years, Mr. Solomon has structured many financings, both public and private and in multiple industries. He also has been a very active venture capital investor. Mr. Solomon graduated from Emory University in 1983 with a BBA in finance. Mr. Solomon is a limited investor in Renrel Partners LLC (“RPLLC”). RPLLC has entered a branch office relationship with Network 1 Financial Securities Inc. pursuant to which RPLLC provides administrative services relating to the management of a branch office.

Theodore Stern

Mr. Stern has served in several executive positions in the energy and software industries over his career. In February 2019, Mr. Solomon became a managing partner in A1 capital, a UC focused on artificial intelligence investments. Previously he served as Chairman of the Board of inContact Inc. from 2000 to 2016 (when the company was acquired). He was Chairman and CEO from 2000 to 2005 when the positions were split. He oversaw the acquisition of four companies and the transition of inContact from a telecommunications company to a rapidly growing software-as-a-service company. Additionally, he previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of Ensync Inc and served on the Governance, Audit and Compensation Committees.

Mr. Stern also was a Senior Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of Westinghouse Electric Corporation until his retirement. In his last position at Westinghouse Electric, Mr. Stern was responsible for multiple business units. Mr. Stern served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Superconductivity, Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin, a small technology company, until it was acquired in April 2007. Mr. Stern also served on the Board of Directors of Copperweld Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a privately-owned steel and cable manufacturer, until its acquisition by LTV. Mr. Stern also served on the Board of Directors of Northern Power Systems of Waitsfield, Vermont, a privately-owned manufacturer of renewable and distributed generation systems until it was acquired by Distributed Energy Systems Incorporated (DESC). Mr. Stern also served on the board of directors of DESC. Mr. Stern holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Pratt Institute and a Master of Arts degree in Theoretical Mathematics from New York University. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is the author of a number of technical papers on nuclear power technology.

Stuart Stoller

On January 31, 2017, Stuart Stoller was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Stoller. Prior to joining the Company served as Chief Financial Officer and Board Member for TestAmerica Environmental Services LLC from May 2016 to October 2017. From December 2013 to April 2016, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Associated Food Stores. Mr. Stoller served as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for Sleep Innovations from August 2009 to October 2013. Prior to joining Sleep Innovations, Mr. Stoller for 29 years served various roles with the New York Times Company including Senior Vice President for Process Reengineering and Corporate Controller and various capacities at Macy’s which included the role of Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. He also was the controller of Coopers & Lybrand LLP. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Thomas Szoke

Thomas R. Szoke serves as Chief Technology Officer and a Director of the Company. Mr. Szoke is a co-founder of Innovation in Motion (“IIM”) a predecessor of Ipsidy and has over 25 years of product engineering, global sales and operations management experience. He has held several executive positions in the Company and has successfully led it from its inception to its listing on the OTC Market as well as expanding its market presence and product portfolio through strategic acquisitions in the United States, South America and Africa. Mr. Szoke pioneered the concept and development of certain product lines as well as its Multi-Factor Out-of-Band Identity and Transaction Authentication Platform.

Prior to founding IIM, Mr. Szoke spent 23 years with Motorola, Inc. holding various management positions in field and product engineering, systems integration, program management and sales. He spent the last 10 years of his career at Motorola in the Biometrics Industry as Director of Integration and Project Management and then Director of Global Business Development for Civil Biometrics. From 2008-2011, Mr. Szoke was President of Thomas Szoke LLC, a technology consulting company focused on identity management and secure credentialing solutions. Mr. Szoke holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the University of Akron, in Ohio and is fluent in Hungarian.

Director Independence

As the Company is admitted to the OTCQX tier of OTC Markets, the Company is required under the OTCQX Rules for US companies to maintain a Board that has at least two independent directors and an Audit Committee, a majority of the members of which are independent directors. Pursuant to Rule 4200 of The NASDAQ Stock Market one of the definitions of an independent director is a person other than an executive officer or employee of a company. The Company’s board of directors has reviewed the materiality of any relationship that each of the directors has with the Company, either directly or indirectly. Based on this review, the board has determined that there are three (3) independent directors, including all the members of the Audit Committee.

Board & Committees

Board meetings during fiscal 2018

During 2018, the Board of Directors held six meetings as well as committee meetings, as outlined below. Each director attended all of the meetings of the Board and all of the meetings held by all committees on which such director served. The Board also approved certain actions by unanimous written consent.

Committees established by the Board

The Board of Directors has standing Audit, Compensation, and Governance Committees. Information concerning the function of each Board committee follows.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing management’s implementation of effective internal accounting and financial controls, supervising matters relating to audit functions, reviewing and setting internal policies and procedures regarding audits, accounting and other financial controls, reviewing the results of our audit performed by the independent public accountants, and evaluating and selecting the independent public accountants. The Audit Committee has adopted an Audit Committee Charter which is posted on our Corporate Governance landing page under the tab labeled “Investors” on our website at http://www.ipsidy.com. The Board has not designated a member as the “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC, which is not required at this time. During 2018, the Audit Committee held four meetings in person or through conference calls.

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee determines matters pertaining to the compensation of our named executive officers and administers our stock option and incentive compensation plans. The Compensation Committee has adopted a Compensation Committee Charter which is posted on our Corporate Governance landing page under the tab labeled “Investors” on our website at http://www.ipsidy.com. During 2018, the Compensation Committee held two meetings in person or through conference calls.

Governance Committee

The Governance Committee is responsible for considering potential Board members, nominating Directors for election to the Board, implementing the Company’s corporate governance policies, recommending compensation for the Board and for all other purposes outlined in the Governance Committee Charter, which is posted on our Corporate Governance landing page under the tab labeled “Investors” on our website at http://www.ipsidy.com. During 2018, the Governance Committee held one meeting in person or through conference calls.

Nomination of Directors

As provided in its charter, the Governance Committee is responsible for identifying individuals qualified to become directors. The Governance Committee seeks to identify director candidates based on input provided by a number of sources including (1) the Governance Committee members, (2) our other directors, (3) our stockholders, (4) our Chief Executive Officer or Chair of the Board, and (5) third parties such as service providers. In evaluating potential candidates for director, the Governance Committee considers the entirety of each candidate’s credentials.

Qualifications for consideration as a director nominee may vary according to the particular areas of expertise being sought as a complement to the existing composition of the Board of Directors. However, at a minimum, candidates for director must possess:

Legal Proceedings

There are currently no legal proceedings, and during the past 10 years there have been no legal proceedings, that are material to the evaluation of the ability or integrity of any of our directors.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers. There is no arrangement or understanding between or among our executive officers and directors pursuant to which any director or officer was or is to be selected as a director or officer.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

To our knowledge, during the last ten years, none of our directors and executive officers has:

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics Policy (the “Code of Ethics”) that applies to all directors and officers. The Code of Ethics describes the legal, ethical and regulatory standards that must be followed by the directors and officers of the Company and sets forth high standards of business conduct applicable to each director and officer. As adopted, the Code of Ethics sets forth written standards that are designed to deter wrongdoing and to promote, among other things:

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our directors and executive officers and persons who own more than 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock to file reports of initial ownership of common stock and other equity securities and subsequent changes in that ownership with the SEC. Officers, directors and greater than ten percent stockholders are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. To our knowledge, based solely on a review of the copies of such reports furnished to us and written representations that no other reports were required, during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to our officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners were complied with.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The below table sets forth information concerning all cash and non-cash compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to (i) all individuals serving as the Company’s principal executive officers or acting in a similar capacity during the last two completed fiscal years, regardless of compensation level, and (ii) the Company’s two most highly compensated executive officers other than the principal executive officers serving at the end of the last two completed fiscal years (collectively, the “Named Executive Officers”).

SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

Mr. Beck, Mr. Szoke and Mr. Stoller each are party to an Executive Retention Agreement to encourage the Executive to continue to devote the Executive’s full attention and dedication to the success of the Company, and to provide specification compensation and benefits to the Executive in the event of a Termination Upon Change of Control or certain other terminations pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. These agreements include payment of salary and other benefits for one year in addition to acceleration and vesting of certain stock compensation plans.

Pursuant to the Executive Retention Agreements, as more fully described below, certain executive officers could earn additional compensation if certain performance thresholds were met. Mr. Beck and Mr. Stoller met the first set of targets during 2018 and were paid their respective bonuses as indicated above. However, Mr. Beck and Mr. Stoller did not meet their additional specific performance target for 2018 and therefore no additional bonus will be paid or accrued. Mr. Szoke did meet a portion of his performance targets for 2018 and therefore the Company has recorded an accrual of approximately $36,700. The bonus will not be paid until the Company attains certain performance targets and to date the Company has not met those targets. No other incremental compensation targets for any executive were met in 2018. However, the Board of Directors may allocate salaries and benefits to the officers in its sole discretion.

The Company currently has no retirement, pension, or profit-sharing plan covering its officers and directors; The Company provide medical benefits on a cost sharing basis and has a dental plan which is fully paid by the employees cost. See “Executive Agreements” below.)

Grant of Plan-Based Awards

As previously described, in connection with their respective employment arrangements, Philip Beck and Stuart Stoller were awarded 15,000,000 and 5,000,000 common stock options in 2017. Additionally, Philip Beck and Stuart Stoller received 15,000,000 and 5,000,000 restricted common shares in 2017.

There were no grants of plan-based awards or common stock options, to other named executive officers during the year ended December 31, 2018.

Outstanding Equity Awards to Executive Officers

The following table sets forth information with respect to outstanding equity awards held by our named executive officers as of December 31, 2018.

Compensation of Directors

Beginning November 1, 2017, the non-management Directors consisting of Herb Selzer, Theodore Stern and Ricky Solomon will receive $72,000 per annum for Board membership, inclusive of all Board meeting and committee meeting attendance fees in the form of an annual restricted common stock grant commencing November 1, 2017 vesting in quarters at the end of each quarter after the date of the grant. Additionally, they will each receive, an annual retainer for service on each committee of $5,000 to be paid in cash beginning November 1, 2017.

During 2018, the Company recorded expense of $40,000 each for Board Membership and $15,000, $15,000 and $10,000 for Mr. Selzer, Mr. Stern and Mr. Solomon for the annual retainer for service on Board committees.

Executive Employment Agreements

On January 31, 2017, Mr. Beck and the Company entered an Executive Retention Agreement pursuant to which Mr. Beck agreed to serve as Chief Executive Officer and President in consideration of an annual salary of $350,000 of which $50,000 shall be deferred until the Company raises in the aggregate $15 million in debt and/or equity capital. The Company has agreed to provide a bonus of 75% of the base salary upon the Company timely filing its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the Company raising gross proceeds of $15 million in debt and/or equity capital (“Milestone 1”) and a bonus of 150% of the base salary upon the Company achieving (i) any merger or sale of the Company or its assets, (ii) the Company achieving adjusted EBITDA of $10 million in a fiscal year, (iii) the Company achieving a listing on a national exchange and then or subsequently raising gross proceeds in the amount of $10 million or achieving a valuation of $125 million or (iv) the Company achieving $20 million of revenue on a trailing 12 months basis (“Milestone 2”).

The Company also granted Mr. Beck a Stock Option to acquire 15 million shares of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 per share for a period of ten years and the Company agreed to a Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement with Mr. Beck pursuant to which Mr. Beck purchased 15 million shares of common stock at a per share price of $0.0001, which shares of common stock vest upon achieving Milestone 2. The Stock Options vest with respect to (i) one-third of the shares of common stock as of January 31, 2017 and (ii) in 24 equal monthly tranches commencing on the grant date.

On January 31, 2017, Mr. Szoke and the Company entered into an Executive Retention Agreement pursuant to which Mr. Szoke agreed to serve as Chief Technology Officer in consideration of an annual salary of $250,000. The Company has agreed to provide a bonus of up to 50% of the base salary in 2017 upon the Company achieving a gross margin to be mutually agreed upon by the Company and Mr. Szoke and a bonus of 75% of the base salary upon the Company achieving Milestone 2. The Company and Mr. Szoke entered into an Indemnification Agreement on January 31, 2017. Mr. Szoke’s annual salary was increased in late 2017 to $275,000 per year. Mr. Szoke did not meet the 2017 bonus requirement.

On January 31, 2017, Douglas Solomon and the Company entered into an Executive Retention Agreement pursuant to which Douglas Solomon agreed to serve as Executive Director, Government Relations and Enterprise Security in consideration of an annual salary of $225,000. The Company has agreed to provide a bonus of up to 50% of the base salary in 2017 upon the Company achieving gross margin to be mutually agreed upon by the Company and a bonus of 75% of the base salary upon the Company achieving Milestone 2. The Company and Mr. Solomon entered into an Indemnification Agreement on January 31, 2017. See below with respect to obligations under Mr. Solomon’s Executive Retention Agreement.

On September 13, 2017, Douglas Solomon and the Company entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement and General Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) pursuant to which the Offer Letter and Executive Retention Agreement entered between the Company and Mr. Solomon dated January 31, 2017 were terminated effective September 1, 2017 and Mr. Solomon resigned as Executive Director, Government Relations Enterprise Security upon execution of the Settlement Agreement. The Company agreed to pay Mr. Solomon approximately $8,000 representing unused 2017 vacation entitlement and pay for one day, reimburse Mr. Solomon for all expenses consistent with the Company’s reimbursement policy and pay Mr. Solomon’s COBRA employee only benefits through September 2018 if Mr. Solomon elected to be included under such coverage. In addition, the Company acknowledged that the 20,000,000 stock options previously granted to Mr. Solomon have vested effective as of September 1, 2017. The parties also provided mutual releases from all claims, demands, actions, causes of action or liabilities. As further consideration for entering into the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Solomon and the Company entered into an Agency Agreement dated September 13, 2017 pursuant to which Mr. Solomon agreed to be engaged as a non-exclusive sales agent for the Company’s products on an as needed basis for a term of three years in consideration of sales commissions including a monthly non-refundable minimum commission to be paid for 24 months. During the quarter ended September 30, 2017, the Company paid Mr. Solomon approximately $52,000 under the terms of such agreement.

The Company entered an Executive Retention Agreement with pursuant to which Stuart Stoller agreed to serve as Chief Financial Officer in consideration of an annual salary of $225,000. The Company has agreed to provide two different bonus levels upon the achievement of certain performance, financial and other milestones. The Company also granted Mr. Stoller a stock option to acquire 5 million shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.10 per share for a period of ten years. Further, Company has agreed to a Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement in which Mr. Stoller purchased an additional 5 million shares at a per share price of $0.0001, which shares of common stock vest upon meeting certain performance, financial and other milestones. The Stock Options vest with respect to (i) one third of common stock upon the anniversary of the grant date and (ii) in 24 equal installments commencing on the one year anniversary of the grant.

The Company also entered into an executive employment agreement with Charles D. Albanese as of May 28, 2015, which was subsequently terminated. The Company and Mr. Albanese entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement pursuant to which Mr. Albanese’s Executive Employment Agreement dated May 28, 2015 was terminated as of January 24, 2017. The Company paid Mr. Albanese $43,462 representing unpaid salary, deferred salary, vacation entitlement and one month’s pay. Upon the Company generating Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization of not less than zero for any quarter published in the Company’s Form 10-Q or Form 10-K, the Company will be required to pay Mr. Albanese $50,000. The Company also paid Mr. Albanese’s COBRA for a period of six months through July 2017. In addition, the parties agreed that Mr. Albanese’s stock options to acquire 2,625,000 shares of common stock that have vested as of the termination date may be exercised prior to their expiration date but all other options shall lapse and no longer be exercisable.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The following table sets forth the number of shares known to be beneficially owned by all persons who own at least 5% of Ipsidy’s outstanding common stock, the Company’s directors, the Company’s executive officers, and the directors and executive officers as a group as of February 28, 2019, unless otherwise noted. Unless otherwise indicated, the stockholders listed in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated.

(1) Applicable percentage ownership is based on 478,950,996, shares of common stock outstanding as of February 15, 2019. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities. Shares of common stock that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of are deemed to be beneficially owned by the person holding such securities for computing the percentage of ownership of such person, but are not treated as outstanding for computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

(2) Includes 1,500,000 shares of common stock, a stock option to acquire 15,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share and a stock option to acquire 20,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.05 per share held by Parity Labs LLC, a private consulting firm which is principally owned by Mr. Beck. Additionally, it includes 15,000,000 restricted common stock shares that vest upon meeting performance criteria. The performance criteria have not been met as of February 28, 2019.

(3) Includes (i) 19,083,317 shares of common stock, (ii) 3,000,000 shares held by Mr. Szoke’s wife, and (iii) a stock option to acquire 10,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.45 per share.  

(4) Includes (i) 4,885,445 shares of common stock, (ii) 8,166,667 shares of common stock held by Theodore Stern Revocable Trust, (iii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 1,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share issued on April 19, 2016 exercisable for a period of five years at an exercise price of $0.10 per share and (iv) 2,375,000 shares of common stock that may be issued upon the conversion of interest accrued at $0.20 per share as of April 30, 2017 under that certain Unsecured Promissory Note due January 31, 2019. Additionally, it includes 434,084 restricted common stock shares that vest at certain dates through November 30, 2019.

(5) Includes (i) 4,288,222 shares of common stock, (ii) a stock option to acquire 3,500,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share, (iii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 250,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.40 per share, and (iv) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 2,727,273 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.055 per share  Additionally, it includes 434,084 restricted common stock shares that vest at certain dates through November 30, 2019.

(6) Includes a stock option to acquire 5,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share. The Stock Options vest with respect to (i) one-third of the shares of common stock upon January 31, 2018 and (ii) in 24 equal monthly tranches commencing on the January 31, 2018. Additionally, it includes 5,000,000 restricted stock common shares that vest upon meeting performance criteria. The performance criteria have not been met as of February 28, 2019.

(7) Includes (i) 4,738,945 shares of common stock, (ii) 1,537,778 shares of common stock held by Vista Associates, a family partnership, (iii) stock options to acquire 400,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.10 per share, (iv) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 1,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.10 per share and (v) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 880,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.05 per share. Additionally, it includes 434,084 restricted common stock shares that vest at certain dates through November 30, 2019.

(8) Includes 3,200,000 shares held by Multipolaris Corporation, 24,968,260 shares held by Interpolaris Pte. Ltd. and 19,200,000 held by MP Informatikai Kft. Mr. Vago is an officer and principal of each of these entities, and he may be deemed the beneficial owner or the shares held by such entities.

(9) Includes (i) 17,793,444 shares of common stock, (ii) a stock option to acquire 20,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.45 per share, (iii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 1,145,667 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.10 per share and (iv) a common stock purchase warrants to acquire 1,363,636 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.055.

(10) Includes (i) 33,681,505 shares of common stock, (ii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 2,200,000 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $0.05 per share, (iii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 166,667 shares of Common Stock at $0.10 per share and (iv) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 312,500 shares of Common Stock at $0.10 per share. In addition, Garchik Universal Limited Partnership, which Mr. Garchik jointly controls with his sister, holds 350,000 shares of common stock 

(11) Includes (i) 9,933,305 shares of common stock held by the Trust FBO Emily Greene (the “Emily Trust”), (ii) 9,933,305 shares of common stock held by the Trust FBO Victoria Greene (the “Victoria Trust”), (iii) 12,010,264 shares of common stock held by Fifth Melville LLC (“Fifth”), (iv) a common stock purchase warrant held by Fifth to acquire 1,041,665 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share issued on December 23, 2015 exercisable for a period of five years, (v) a common stock purchase warrant held by the Emily Trust to acquire 550,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share issued on July 29, 2015 exercisable for a period of five years, (vi) a common stock purchase warrant held by the Victoria Trust to acquire 550,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share issued on July 29, 2015 exercisable for a period of five years, (vii) a common stock purchase warrant held by the Emily Trust to acquire 1,076,667 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share issued on September 3, 2015 exercisable for a period of five years, and (viii) a common stock purchase warrant held by the Victoria Trust to acquire 1,076,667 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share issued on September 3, 2015 exercisable for a period of five years. Mr. Greene serves as the trustee for the Victoria Trust and the Emily Trust. Mr. Greene serves as the manager of Fifth.

(12) Includes the following securities held by Mr. Rand: (i) 23,219,523 shares of common stock, (ii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 572,000 shares of common stock at $0.05 per share, (iii) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 333,334 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share and (iv) a common stock purchase warrant to acquire 10,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.10 per share. 

See Item 5 for information pertaining to Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence

In connection with the Company’s ability to secure third-party financing during the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company paid Network 1 Financial Securities, Inc. (“Network 1”), a registered broker-dealer, cash fees of $659,000, issued Network 1 2,470,000 common stock purchase warrants at a price of $0.165 cents per share. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company paid Network 1 cash fees of $710,000, and issued Network 1 2,200,000 shares of common stock and issued 1,153,846 common stock purchase warrants at a price of $0.143 cents per share. A member of the Company’s Board of Directors previously maintained a partnership with a key principal of Network 1.

As the Company is admitted to the OTCQX tier of OTC Markets, the Company is required under the OTCQX Rules for US companies to maintain a Board that has at least two independent directors and an Audit Committee, a majority of the members of which are independent directors. The board has determined that there are three (3) independent directors, including all the members of the Audit Committee

On August 10, 2016, the Company entered into a Letter Agreement (the “Amendment”) with Parity Labs, LLC (“Parity”), a company principally owned by Mr. Beck and his family, to amend the compensation section of that certain Advisory Agreement previously entered into between the Company and Parity on November 16, 2015 for the provision of strategic advisory services, to provide for the issuance to Parity of a common stock option (the “Parity Option”) to acquire 20,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company exercisable at $0.05 per share for a period of ten years. The Parity Option vested in entirety upon Mr. Beck becoming the Chief Executive Officer of Ipsidy, Inc. on January 31, 2017. The Company’s headquarters are located in Long Beach, New York where the Company currently leases offices on a month to month basis. The facilities are managed by Bridgeworks LLC, (“Bridgeworks”) a company providing office facilities to emerging companies, principally owned by Mr. Beck and his family. The arrangement with Bridgeworks LLC allows the Company to use offices and conference rooms for a fixed, monthly fee $4,500. Since 2014, Mr. Beck has served as managing member of Parity, and since 2016, as Chairman, a Member and co-founder of Bridgeworks. During 2018, the Company paid Bridgeworks $89,200 use of facilities respectively and in 2017, paid Parity and Bridgeworks $34,694 and $71,950 for strategic advisory services and the use of the facilities.

In November 2016, the Company issued a note payable for $13,609 to one if its Board of Directors. The note was repaid in April 2017.

On January 31, 2017, the Company entered into Conversion Agreements with Mr. Selzer, a director of the Company and Vista Associates, a family partnership pursuant to which Mr. Selzer converted $150,000 in debt plus interest into 1,753,500 shares of common stock and $40,000 of debt plus interest into 1,537,778 shares of common stock. Additionally, in April 2017, Mr. Selzer purchased an additional 500,000 shares of common stock.

On September 13, 2017, one of its former officers and a former director (Douglas Solomon) of the Company entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement and General Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) pursuant to which the Offer Letter and Executive Retention Agreement entered between the Company and Mr. Solomon dated January 31, 2017 were terminated effective September 1, 2017 and Mr. Solomon resigned as Executive Director, Government Relations Enterprise Security upon execution of the Settlement Agreement. The Company agreed to pay Mr. Solomon approximately $8,000 representing unused 2017 vacation entitlement and pay for one day, reimburse Mr. Solomon for all expenses consistent with the Company’s reimbursement policy and pay Mr. Solomon’s COBRA employee only benefits through September 2018 if Mr. Solomon elected to be included under such coverage. In addition, the Company acknowledged that the 20,000,000 stock options previously granted to Mr. Solomon have vested effective as of September 1, 2017. The parties also provided mutual releases from all claims, demands, actions, causes of action or liabilities. As further consideration for entering into the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Solomon and the Company entered into an Agency Agreement dated September 13, 2017 pursuant to which Mr. Solomon agreed to be engaged as a non-exclusive sales agent for the Company’s products on an as needed basis for a term of three years in consideration of sales commissions including a monthly non-refundable minimum commission to be paid for 24 months. During the year ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company paid Mr. Solomon approximately $160,000 under the terms of such agreement. Additionally in 2018, Mr. Solomon earned approximately $90,000 in sales commissions.

In August 2018, Mr. Stern and Mr. Selzer, directors of the Company, purchased an additional 6,666,667 and 666,667 shares of common stock, respectively of the common stock offering.

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.

The aggregate fees incurred for each of the last two years for professional services rendered by Cherry Bekaert, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm for the audit of the Company’s annual financial statements included in the Company’s Form 10-K and review of financial statements for its quarterly reports (Form 10-Q) are reported below.

The total fees paid to Cherry Bekaert, LLP in 2018 aggregated $246,700 which includes fees for the 2017 audited financial statements and review of the quarterly financial statements for 2018. Additionally, the company paid Cherry Bekaert, LLP $21,700 for tax services.

The total fees paid to Cherry Bekaert, LLP in 2017 aggregated $431,200 which includes fees for the 2016 audited financial statements and review of the quarterly financial statements for 2017. Additionally, the company paid Cherry Bekaert, LLP $61,300 for tax services.

In 2017, the Company formed an Audit Committee and the Audit Committee by its Charter shall pre-approve all audit services to be provided to the Company, whether provided by the principal auditor or other firms, and all other services (review, attest and non-audit) to be provided to the Company by the independent auditor. The Audit Committee approved the services rendered by Cherry Bekaert, LLP beginning with the Form 10-Q filing for the third quarter of 2017. The Audit Committee approved the services rendered for the audit of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 in addition to the services rendered for the filing of the quarterly financial statements on Form 10-Q in 2018.

The current policy of the directors, acting via the Audit Committee, is to approve the appointment of the principal auditing firm and any permissible audit-related services. The audit and audit related fees include fees for the annual audit of the financial statements and review of financial statements included in 10K and Q filings.

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101.SC XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document * 

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101.CA XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document * 

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101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document * 

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* Filed herewith

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

In accordance with the Exchange Act, this report has been signed below by the following persons on March 8, 2019 on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders

Ipsidy, Inc.

Long Beach, New York

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Ipsidy, Inc. (formerly ID Global Solutions Corporation) and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

Going Concern

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As disclosed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company had an accumulated deficit of approximately $76.4 million, earned revenue of approximately $3.8 million, and incurred a loss from operations of approximately $9.3 million, which raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

We have served as the Company’s auditor since December 31, 2015.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

March 8, 2019

IPSIDY INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

IPSIDY INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

IPSIDY INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

IPSIDY INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

IPSIDY INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS