OSLO, NORWAY - 28 April 2022 - Zwipe AS today publishes its first quarter operational update.
Q1 2022 Highlights
During the first quarter of 2022, Zwipe made significant progress towards the targeted commercial breakthrough for biometric cards for payment and access control:
Significant events after the period
Message from the CEO
Most importantly for Q1 2022, Visa certified the Zwipe Pay Biometric Payment Card Platform and issued the Letter of Approval to Zwipe. Zwipe Pay passed all tests required to obtain the Visa Letter of Approval. This is a major milestone which represents a seminal moment for the company, and the leadership is rightly proud of the achievement. With this, the Zwipe Pay biometric payment card platform is the most advanced and cost-effective certified solution available to smart card manufacturers globally. The LoA enables our customers to swiftly obtain VISA certification for their own biometric payment card designs for full-scale production and issuance in any global territory.
This was evidenced when two smart card manufacturers, Tag Systems and Beautiful Card Corporation (BCC), announced within a week of Zwipe's announcement that they had obtained Letters of Approval from VISA for their own biometric payment card solutions based on the Zwipe Pay platform. This means that the pathway is now open for smart card manufacturers and issuers all over the world to certify, produce and deploy biometric Visa cards based on Zwipe Pay for commercial launch to consumers. We are also progressing towards certification with Mastercard.
From January until mid-April 2022, a total of six new issuers across APAC, Africa and the Middle East signed up to pilot biometric payment cards based on Zwipe technology. These issuers are sKarn from India, Al Mansour Bank from Iraq, Mediterranean Bank from Libya, National Bank of Iraq, CSC Jordan and a leading bank in Kuwait. We also entered new partnerships with card personalization bureaus and service providers such as Modularsoft in Malaysia and K2sas / Card Systems Group in France and the Middle East.
We strengthened our effort in positioning Zwipe as a leading biometric company in the APAC region by announcing that Placard, Australia’s largest card manufacturer, selected Zwipe as its technology partner to pursue market opportunities for biometric payment cards and other security products. Placard delivers more than 100 million cards each year for the most established brands in the financial, retail, identification, government, loyalty and hospitality sectors and will help to accelerate the deployment of biometric payment cards to banks and consumers.
We were also delighted that US-based TSYS, one of the world's largest and most respected payment service providers, declared our partnership on their website, reflecting our announcement on 15 December 2021. TSYS, which is part of Global Payments Inc, a member of the S&P 500, produced approximately 100 million cards of all types in the United States in 2021. I recommend you read their excellent feature story about our partnership and why the two companies plan to produce an affordable, secure biometric payment card.
During 2022 we have seen a fast-growing interest in Zwipe Access, our new, batteryless biometric smart card solution for access control that offers fast and cost-efficient added security from biometrics without changing the infrastructure. Fraport AG recently launched a project to identify the optimal solution for performing a biometric comparison between the airport ID card and the person requesting access and selected Zwipe Access as one of two finalists in this prestigious innovation project. Fraport AG ranks among the world’s leading companies in the airport business, offering a full range of integrated airport management services with subsidiaries and investments around the globe. It operates 31 airports globally.
Against this background, I was also thrilled to see the successful integration of Zwipe Access on LEGIC’s end-to-end security platform. In LEGIC’s own words, Zwipe Access “…adds a revolutionary new layer of security to the huge installed base of LEGIC card-based access control systems worldwide. This innovation brings benefits that were formerly only available on smartphone solutions, while preserving existing infrastructure and drastically reducing time-to-market". The installed base of LEGIC systems comprises 100.000 installations with more than 3 million readers and 150.000 daily users.
Zwipe continues to attract top industry talent, as evidenced by the appointment of Danielle Glenn as CFO and Head of IR and Patrice Meilland as Chief Strategy and Product Officer. Ms. Glenn has spent most of her career in London and New York, working at Goldman Sachs, Caxton Associates and Bywater Capital as a global macro hedge fund manager and Chief Investment Officer, while Mr. Meilland has extensive business and technical experience in the semiconductor, mobile, and payment card industries including 7 years at Idemia and 26 years at ST Microelectronics and ST-Ericsson.
On top of obtaining our Visa certification, the addition of new customers, pilot agreements and partnerships with significant stakeholders worldwide, all contribute to the foundation for future mass-market deployment of our compelling and value-adding technology. These efforts will continue at full speed going forward. Meanwhile, we are supporting customers in getting ready for production and volume deliveries.
Whilst we deplore the Russian aggression on Ukraine, we can advise that Zwipe has no ongoing business in Russia or Ukraine and is not impacted by the war.
All in all, our long-term optimism has only been strengthened with another solid quarter. We firmly believe that millions of consumers everywhere will be using Zwipe enabled biometric payment and access cards in the years to come.
Financial Update
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on 28 April 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY - 19 April 2022 - The share capital increase of 150,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 24 March 2022, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,751,668.50, and the new number of shares and votes is 37,516,685
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 11:30 CET on 19 April 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY – 24 March 2022 – Zwipe, a leading provider of biometric payment card solutions, is proud to announce that it has obtained the Letter of Approval (LoA) from Visa for the Zwipe Pay platform, the most advanced biometric card solution available to all smart card manufacturers in the market today. This LoA enables Zwipe’s customers (smart card manufacturers) to leverage Zwipe’s certification results to obtain Visa certification for their own biometric payment card designs.
Zwipe Pay passed all tests required to obtain the Visa Letter of Approval. This confirms that the Zwipe Pay biometric payment card platform meets the security and performance standards required by Visa. Zwipe’s complete end-to-end solution is now ready for full scale production by smart card manufacturers and adoption by issuers. The product is approved for issuance anywhere in the world.
Issuers can now leverage Visa’s global network and start to deliver biometric payment cards, built on Zwipe Pay technology.
“Having the Zwipe Pay platform certified by Visa is a historic milestone for Zwipe and our customers. Consumers will benefit from more convenient, safe, and secure ways to pay. Issuers will have the opportunity to create differentiation, accelerate customer acquisition, uplift loyalty and create new revenue streams. The pathway is now open for smart card manufacturers and issuers all over the world to certify, produce and deploy biometric Visa cards based on Zwipe Pay,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries & cultures to make convenience safe & secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for both payment and physical & logical access control and ID solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 93 43 69 52 info@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 09:45 CET on 24 March 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY – 23 February 2022 – Zwipe AS today publishes its annual report 2021.
Highlights for 2021 include:
Financials
Significant events 2021
Significant events after the period
CEO comments
"2021 was a transformative year for Zwipe, preparing the ground for commercial success in 2022.
Our technology platform was upgraded to a cutting-edge, third-generation single silicon platform that provides best-in-class biometric performance at highly competitive cost levels. We prepared for submission of reference cards based on Zwipe Pay components to accredited laboratories for certification by both Visa and Mastercard. The submission has been made and, together with our biometric card manufacturing partners, the certification tests are proceeding according to plan. Based on this, and the core components in our Zwipe Pay platform being validated through Idemia’s certifications obtained in November 2021, we are confident we are closing in on certification as planned.
During 2021 we have also continued to build commercial momentum. We announced engagements with nine new smart card manufacturers and card personalization bureaus during the year, representing an annual volume above 250m payment cards. We also extended and expanded our partnership with TAG Systems, which delivers an additional 100+ million payment cards per annum. Each new partner and customer in our ecosystem contribute to increasing the value creation potential and reducing the risk for Zwipe and its stakeholders.
A great milestone for Zwipe in 2021 was the receipt of commercial orders from BCC, Inkript, and yet another card manufacturing customer for complete Zwipe Pay deliveries worth more than NOK 20m, to be delivered primarily in 2022.
As a complement to our "push" approach, targeting smart card manufacturers as our direct customers, we continued to broaden our go-to-market strategy with the "pull" approach. That means we are marketing the benefits of biometric cards to partners and indirect clients, such as financial institutions – our customers’ customers. This move has allowed us to accelerate awareness, create strong demand for our biometric payment option, take more control of our destiny, and significantly strengthen our strategic position and brand equity.
The results of these efforts started coming to fruition in 2021, when Zwipe announced commitments for 14 pilots with 11 new issuers, including a global Tier-1 bank that will pilot Zwipe Pay in three European markets. We also entered go-to-market and implementation partnerships with many payment processors and, most recently, a major US company that is one of the world’s largest payment services providers. Such partners enable us to leverage their long-term, trust-based relationships with hundreds of banks worldwide to further accelerate the deployment of biometric payment cards built on our platform. I often refer to this as “the Megaphone Effect”, which is fundamental to our pull strategy.
We have upgraded our sales-enabling services and tools to support these processes and our customers. For example, this has resulted in the launch of new services such as "Zwipe Experience" (pilot and launch program services) and Zwipe Insights (consumer research to gauge demand for biometric payments), to name a few. The ROI calculator for issuers, created together with industry experts, is another example. It demonstrated that, even without an additional card fee from consumers, Zwipe Pay could deliver a $22.4m annual net benefit for an average US issuer converting a portfolio of 1 million credit cards, 1 million debit cards, and 100,000 commercial cards to biometric cards.
As part of our end-to-end offering, ranging from leading technology to professional sales enablement, these kinds of services and initiatives make Zwipe stand out from the crowd, adding considerable value to customers.
In addition, Zwipe announced its first entry into adjacent sectors, starting with the launch of “Zwipe Access”, building on years of investments into our advanced biometric authentication technology platform designed to fulfil the highest criteria for security, scalability, and mass-volume implementation. At the same time, we announced collaborations with several leading companies in the security industry; notably HID Global, LeGrand, and Southco. This coalition will bring a highly advanced, cost-effective biometric authentication solution to market, fully capable of working with existing access control infrastructure.
We also raised NOK 104 million in a private placement directed towards one of the Nordic’s most respected investors, Erik Selin. This means that our shareholder base and finances have been significantly strengthened in 2021.
Adding to our confidence in our future outlook is the consistent evidence from numerous consumer surveys covering more than 2,500 cardholders from diverse markets around the world that cardholders want the touch-less and PIN-free experience with world-class security that is made possible by biometric payment cards. 56% said they were willing to pay to get a biometric card and 57% said they were willing to switch banks to get a biometric card. These findings, which are consistent with survey findings of industry peers and other analyst reports, suggest that launches of biometric cards will offer valuable differentiation to first-moving banks and trigger competitive reactions from others.
Like most other companies engaged in multinational development projects, Zwipe has, as mentioned before, been impacted by COVID-19 through added complexity and extended lead times. However, I have been impressed by the grit and determination of my team and technology partners, systematically overcoming hurdles and setbacks along the way.
I want to express my deep gratitude to the exceptional team of Zwipers for their unfailing efforts through this challenging pandemic which has taken its toll on everyone.
My sincere thanks also go out to all our customers, partners, and shareholders for supporting our journey and sharing our mission - Making Convenience Safe and Secure.
I am looking forward to 2022 with a lot of excitement due to the prospects ahead.” says CEO of Zwipe André Løvestam.
Please find the annual report here
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 23 February 2022 – Zwipe AS today publishes its second half-year 2021 report.
Summary of financial development for the second half-year 2021:
Please find the second half-year report here
The annual report 2021 will be released through a separate stock exchange announcement shortly after this announcement.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 07:58 CET on 23 February 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY – 23 February 2022- The share capital increase of 384,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 20 January 2022, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,736,668.50, and the new number of shares and votes are 37,366,685.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 00:20 CET on 23 February 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY – 22 February 2022- The share capital increase of 384,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 20 January 2022, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,736,668.50, and the new number of shares and votes are 37,266,685.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 20:00 CET on 22 February 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY – 31 January 2021 – Zwipe AS, a biometric fintech pioneering the development of next generation biometric solutions in payments and access control, has appointed Danielle Glenn as its new CFO and Head of IR effective from 1 May 2022.
Ms. Glenn (44) will join Zwipe from her current position as CFO of Arctic Bioscience AS, a Norwegian biotech company. While at Arctic Bioscience, Ms. Glenn managed the company’s capital markets activities including its MNOK 300 IPO on Euronext Growth Market in Oslo in February 2021. In addition to her responsibilities as CFO, she was also responsible for Investor Relations and heavily involved in setting the company’s overall strategic, commercial, operating and investment plans. At Zwipe, she will help lead the company through its next phase of international commercialization as the company approaches mass volume rollout of biometric cards withing payments and access control.
“Zwipe is continually expanding the commercial and strategic opportunities for its unique biometric technology. Danielle’s background as a CFO operating at the intersection of finance, commercial operations, technology and investor relations in fast-growing companies as well as her deep experience from international capital markets will provide us with the financial skill set we need to increase long-term stakeholder value in the coming years,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
Prior to joining Arctic Bioscience, Ms. Glenn worked in several management roles with start-up and scale-up companies in Norway upon moving to Oslo in 2016. She spent the majority of her career in London and New York, working at Goldman Sachs, Caxton Associates and Bywater Capital as a global macro hedge fund manager and Chief Investment Officer. Ms. Glenn graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a BA in History and Science.
“I am impressed by the innovation Zwipe is demonstrating in the fintech space, honoured by the confidence management and the Board has placed in me, and excited to help build upon Zwipe’s strong commercial and technological momentum. I very much look forward to joining a Norwegian company with global ambitions and an impressive international team,” says Ms. Glenn.
Ms. Glenn will take over from Lars Kristian Solheim who has decided to pursue other opportunities. Mr. Solheim has been the CFO since March 2020 and continues as CFO of the company through April 2022.
“On behalf of the whole management team and Board, I would like to thank Lars Kristian for his hard work and unquestionable dedication. He has acted as CFO during an important and transformative stage in our growth story, providing valuable contributions and wise counsel. I wish him the very best in all his future endeavours,” says Mr. Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
For further information, please contact:
André Løvestam
CEO of Zwipe AS
Phone: +47 934 36 952
Email: andre@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation on Euronext Growth Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 13:30 CET on 31 January 2022.
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. The company works across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. Zwipe is pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payments, physical & logical access control, and identification solutions. The company promises customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
OSLO, NORWAY – 20 January 2022 – Primary insider André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe AS (the "Company"), has today exercised 384,000 stock options, each giving the right to acquire one share in the Company at a strike price of NOK 10.00. The stock options have been allocated to André Løvestam under the Company's stock option incentive program. After completion of the transaction, André Løvestam will, through Energetic AS and privately, own 1,300,000 shares and hold 306,000 options, each giving the right to acquire one share in the Company.
Attached is a copy of the form submitted to the Norwegian FSA, Finanstilsynet, reporting the transaction as listed above:
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About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation on Euronext Growth Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 12:45 CET on 20 January 2022.
