Tech: iSignthis issues latest response in ongoing battle with the ASX

The latest response from embattled payments company iSignthis (ASX:ISX) has now been made public.

ISX submitted its reply to another 28 questions from the ASX on Friday, where it addressed a series of queries about its business operations.

The ASX said its enquiries remain ongoing, and ISX shares will remain in suspension until further notice.

Long-running saga

Shares in ISX have been placed in suspension at $1.07 since October 2, after the stock fell sharply from around $1.70 in late-September following a report from industry watchdog group Ownership Matters (OM) which questioned the company’s governance and accounting practices.

The company responded to a first round of 17 questions in late October, when it provided a breakdown of monthly revenue from April to September 2018 — a period where it hit key revenue targets that unlocked 300m performance shares for the executive team.

In its 19-page reply on Friday, ISX addressed additional questions about its business model and the nature of its customers.

ISX issued a breakdown of its Paydentity platform, which provides know-your-customer (KYC) reference checks to help facilitate B2B transactions.

The ASX also dialled in on the nature of a segment of ISX’s business customers, which number around 300 in total. The company has stated previously that it’s been aggressive about going after higher-risk clients to build its customer base.

And the line of questioning from the ASX indicates it is a key focus area for regulators. In the period to June 2018, ISX derived a material amount of its revenues — 23.5 per cent — from OT Capital — a company which was later deregistered by ASIC.

The ASX also made additional enquiries about the nature of ISX’s business operations that caused revenue to drop off so sharply after the June 2018 period.

ALSO READ: iSignthis just went tit-for-tat with the ASX, next submission due by Friday

In other ASX tech news today:

Small business lending platform Prospa (ASX:PGL) has been shelled in morning trade, crashing by more than 25 per cent following a negative trading update. The company said revenues for the 2019 calendar year are now expected to be $143.8m, which is $12.6m lower than previous guidance.

And IT services provider Empired Ltd (ASX:EPD) is in “advanced stages of finalising new or expanded contracts” which will generate around $5m of new recurring revenue each year. The company said its client base includes state governments, universities and private companies. Shares in EPD initially climbed before falling slightly into the red at 31.5 cents, down from 50 cents in March this year.