Correction of Annual General Meeting minutes published 19 May - Corrected name Board of Directors:
OSLO, NORWAY– 19 May 2021 – The Annual General Meeting in Zwipe AS (Company) was held today. All proposed resolutions were approved unanimously in accordance with the call for the meeting. The minutes of Annual General Meeting are included as an attachment. The complete proposal, which was approved by the Annual General Meeting, is available on www.zwipe.com for further reference. The attendants of the AGM represented 27.3% of the votes in the company.
The following matters were reviewed and confirmed:
Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2020:
The board’s proposal for the annual report and the financial statements for 2020 for the Company and the group were unanimously approved.
Election of members to the Board of Directors:
The following persons were unanimously elected to as the new Board of Directors:
Jörgen Lantto, Chairman of the board
Diderik Schonheyder
Johan Biehl
Dennis Jones
Stina Granberg
Tanya Juul Kjaer
Remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Nomination Committee
Remuneration to the Board members for the period from the AGM in 2021 until the AGM in 2022 were unanimously approved as follows:
Chairman of the Board: NOK 260,000,-
Members of the Board: NOK 130,000,-
No remuneration to the members of the Nomination Committee was resolved.
Board authorizations to increase the share capital and instructions to the Board regarding use of the authorization to increase the shares capital to strengthen the Company's equity
The Board proposed that two new authorizations for the Board on capital increases are issued, (i) to fulfil the Company's incentive program and (ii) to cater for strengthening of the Company's equity (extract, please see the attachment to the notice for the complete proposal).
i. Authorization for capital increase to fulfill the Company's incentive program
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the Board is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS (the Company), on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 230,631.90 (2,306,319 new shares), equivalent to 7 % of the registered share capital at the time of this resolution. The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2022, however not beyond 30 June 2022. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
ii. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the General Meeting granted a new authorization to the Board to issue shares corresponding to up to 15% of the share capital, and the new authorization shall be restricted to issue of shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2022, however not beyond 30 June 2022. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
###
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. 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 below, on May 20, 2021 at 09:15 CEST
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 contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY– 19 May 2021 – The Annual General Meeting in Zwipe AS (Company) was held today. All proposed resolutions were approved unanimously in accordance with the call for the meeting. The minutes of Annual General Meeting are included as an attachment. The complete proposal, which was approved by the Annual General Meeting, is available on www.zwipe.com for further reference. The attendants of the AGM represented 27.3% of the votes in the company.
The following matters were reviewed and confirmed:
Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2020:
The board’s proposal for the annual report and the financial statements for 2020 for the Company and the group were unanimously approved.
Election of members to the Board of Directors:
The following persons were unanimously elected to as the new Board of Directors:
Jörgen Lantto, Chairman of the board
Dorian Barak
Johan Biehl
Dennis Jones
Stina Granberg
Tanya Juul Kjaer
Remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Nomination Committee
Remuneration to the Board members for the period from the AGM in 2021 until the AGM in 2022 were unanimously approved as follows:
Chairman of the Board: NOK 260,000,-
Members of the Board: NOK 130,000,-
No remuneration to the members of the Nomination Committee was resolved.
Board authorizations to increase the share capital and instructions to the Board regarding use of the authorization to increase the shares capital to strengthen the Company's equity
The Board proposed that two new authorizations for the Board on capital increases are issued, (i) to fulfil the Company's incentive program and (ii) to cater for strengthening of the Company's equity (extract, please see the attachment to the notice for the complete proposal).
i. Authorization for capital increase to fulfill the Company's incentive program
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the Board is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS (the Company), on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 230,631.90 (2,306,319 new shares), equivalent to 7 % of the registered share capital at the time of this resolution. The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2022, however not beyond 30 June 2022. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
ii. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the General Meeting granted a new authorization to the Board to issue shares corresponding to up to 15% of the share capital, and the new authorization shall be restricted to issue of shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2022, however not beyond 30 June 2022. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
###
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. 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 below, on May 19, 2021 at 16:30 CEST
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 contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and CHENNAI, INDIA – 10 May 2021 – FSS (Financial Software and Systems), a leading global provider of integrated payment products and a payment processor, is partnering with Zwipe to bring next generation contactless payment cards to issuers globally. Zwipe is a payment FinTech recognized for having pioneered the development of biometric payments and has delivered many successful pilots around the world.
FSS is among the leading providers of card issuance products globally and its card portfolio consists of 800 plus million payment cards for Tier One banks and payment processors. The organizations will collaborate closely, offering greater value to customers by combining FSS’s Unified Issuance Platform and Zwipe Pay One biometric card capabilities, supported by Zwipe’s fast-growing global network of card manufacturing partners.
The widespread adoption of contactless payment cards has been a huge success in recent years[1]. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of contactless payments even further as consumers demand a safe, contact-free transacting environment. However, the lack of cardholder authentication with contactless cards translates into usage being restricted to relatively small and medium value payments, hampering the ability to deliver a fully contact-free experience for all payment values. The response to this is the biometric payment card that fully enables contact-free transactions while boosting confidence and security for consumers, retailers and issuers.
Commenting on the partnership K Srinivasan, Chief Operating Officer, FSS PayTech, said “Biometric payment cards will bring strong differentiation and value uplift to our card issuance and management offerings. Our partnership with Zwipe will help our issuer clients to deliver a completely touchless and PIN-free check out experience, better in-store payments hygiene and much stronger cardholder security. Needless to say, now more than ever, innovation can play a critical role within the context of the global pandemic which makes it even more important to bring solutions such as this quickly to our customers. Zwipe Pay ONE is recognized as the most advanced (Gen3) biometric payment technology and complements FSS’ innovative card portfolio. It will be made available to our clients for piloting and deployment from H2 2021”.
As part of this collaboration, FSS will offer Zwipe Pay ONE biometric payment cards globally. The initial focus will be in those markets where contactless is bringing considerable benefits in the area of financial inclusion as seen in Canada, India and a number of countries within Europe, Middle East (GCC countries) and Africa. Both partners will start engaging with issuers from Q2 2021 and aim for starting pilots from 2H 2021.
“We are humbled and proud to partner with FSS, one of the most respected and global providers of payment services. This is a landmark agreement for Zwipe and will significantly accelerate our growth globally, most notably in Asia, the world’s largest payment market,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
###
This is information that Zwipe AS is obliged to make public pursuant to the Continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market 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 below, at 10:05 CEST on 10 May 2021.
About FSS
Financial Software and Systems (FSS) is a leader in payments technology and transaction processing. The company offers an integrated portfolio of software products, hosted payment services and software solutions built over 30+ years of experience. FSS, end-to-end payments products suite, powers retail delivery channels including ATM, POS, Internet and Mobile as well as critical back-end functions including cards management, reconciliation, settlement, merchant management and device monitoring. Headquartered in Chennai, India, FSS services leading global banks, financial institutions, processors, central regulators and governments across North America, UK, Europe, ME, Africa, and APAC and has 2,500 experts on-board. For more information visit www.fsstech.com
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 further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY - 28 April 2021 - The board of directors of Zwipe AS (“the Company”) call for the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) to be held on 19 May 2021 at 14:00 CEST. Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, the general meeting will be held as a digital meeting on Microsoft Teams.
Please find enclosed the notice of the Annual General Meeting. The notice and Zwipe’s Annual Report for 2020 are available on the Company’s website, https://zwipe.com/investors
Notice of attendance, in person or by proxy, shall be given no later than 18 May 2021 at 16:00 CEST. Shareholders are encouraged to register via the link found here.
Alternatively, the attached form may be sent by e-mail to genf@dnb.no, or regular post to DNB Bank ASA, Verdipapirservice, NO-0021 Oslo.
In order to be invited to the meeting, Zwipe’s administration will need to have the shareholder’s email address in advance. Shareholders must after having registered their attendance also register their email address by sending an email to ir@zwipe.com.
The board of directors (the "Board") has proposed the following agenda:
Opening of the General Meeting by the chair. Registration of meeting shareholders
Election of a meeting chairperson and person to co-sign the minutes together with the chairperson
Approval of the notice and the agenda
Report by the management on the Company
Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2020 for the Company and the group
Remuneration to the auditor
Election of members to the Board
Remuneration to the Board and the members of the Nomination Committee
Proposal to grant the board a new authorization to increase the share capital
Proposed decisions from the Board
Matter no. 5: Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2020 for the Company and the group
The boards proposal for annual report and financial statements for 2020 for the Company and the group were unanimously approved.
Matter no. 6: Remuneration to the auditor
The Board proposes that the auditor's fees are paid as per accounts rendered.
Matter no. 7: Election of members to the Board
Subject to the general meeting's approval, the Company's Board of Directors will comprise:
Jörgen Lantto, Chairman of the board
Johan Biehl
Dennis Jones
Diderik Schonheyder
Stina Granberg
Tanya Juul Kjaer
Matter no. 8: Remuneration to the members of the Board and the members of the Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee makes the following recommendation:
Fees to the Board for the period from the AGM in 2020 until the AGM in 2021 were resolved by the AGM on 14 May 2020.
Fees to the Board for the period from the AGM in 2021 until the AGM in 2022 is suggested as follows:
Chairman of the Board: NOK 260.000,-
Members of the Board: NOK 130.000,-
As to remuneration, the nomination committee proposes that no remuneration is paid to the members of the nomination committee.
Matter no. 9: Proposal on authorizations to the Board on capital increase
The Board proposes that two new authorizations for the Board on capital increases are issued, (i) to fulfil the Company's incentive program and (ii) to cater for strengthening of the Company's equity.
The Board proposes that the General Meeting adopts the following resolution:
1. Authorization for capital increase to fulfill the Company's incentive program
The board of directors is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS, on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 230,498.90 (2,304,989), equivalent to 7 % of the registered share capital at the time of this resolution.
2. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity
The Board proposes that the General Meeting grants a new authorization to the Board to issue shares corresponding to up to 15% of the share capital, and the new authorization shall be restricted to issue of shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
The board of directors is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS with up to NOK 493,926.10 (4,939,261 new shares) on one or several occasions.
The authorization may be used to issue shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
###
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. 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 below, at 17:35 CEST on 28 April 2021.
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
OSLO, NORWAY – 28 APRIL 2021 –
Q1 2021 Highlights
During the first quarter 2021, Zwipe continued to strengthen its foundation for mass-volume roll out of biometric payment cards.
Swedish fintech Vopy, a provider of embedded financial services for telecom and financial institutions globally, selected the Zwipe Pay ONE platform for its biometric payment cards.
Zwipe announced the finalization of four new partnerships with prominent card manufacturers in Asia-Pacific and Europe. The combined annual card shipment from these new customers is more than 1 billion, of which payment cards constitute more than 150 million.
Tag Systems, a leading provider of payment cards (and part of AUSTRIACARD Group), decided to strengthen its collaboration with Zwipe to bring the most advanced new biometric payment cards to issuers in Europe and North America. The group delivers 100 million payment cards each year across Europe, the Middle East and the US. Tag Systems also placed a small initial order for Zwipe Pay ONE.
Developments after the period
KL HI-TECH, the 2nd largest payment card manufacturer in India selected the Zwipe Pay ONE platform to deliver biometric payment cards to its clients in India and key international markets. KL HI-TECH serves some of India's largest banks and delivers approximately 30 million payment cards per year.
French payment solutions provider be ys Pay selected Zwipe to offer biometric payment cards to the French, Belgian, Luxembourg and Dutch markets. be ys Pay is an integral part of the international be ys ecosystem, present on three continents with more than 3 000 employees.
To strengthen its strategic engagements in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and India, Zwipe has appointed Ramzi Saboury as General Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and Masterline as Strategic Business Partner in India and other selected markets in the MEA region.
CEO Comment
During the first quarter of 2021, Zwipe has seen significant progress on all fronts – operationally, technologically and organizationally.
We continued to grow our ecosystem of smart card manufacturers and go-to-market partners, while cementing our collaboration with key technology partners in the payments value chain. We have taken major steps towards technology readiness with our Zwipe Pay ONE platform, passing critical milestones and risk points and successfully performing fully functional internal test transactions with Zwipe Pay ONE demo cards. Consequently, we are on track to support our partners launch pilots after the summer. We have also onboarded key expert resources onto our team, strengthening the Zwipe organization even further.
The first quarter was characterized by a continued high level of activity and we finalized many key agreements. Swedish fintech Vopy, chose Zwipe Pay ONE for issuing biometric payment cards to their global telecom and financial institutions client network. The four agreements with prominent card manufacturers in Asia-Pacific and Europe, with a combined yearly shipment of more than 150 million payment cards announced during the quarter, was another recognition of the attractiveness of our offering. Subject to positive pilot results, mass-market rollout will follow. The renewal and strengthening of our commercial partnership with TAG Systems, including TAG Nitecrest in the UK, further reinforced our foundation for market success, especially in Europe and North America.
We ended a solid quarter and kick-started the next announcing agreements with KL HI-TECH, India's second-largest card manufacturer (delivering 30 million payment cards annually), and French payment provider be ys Pay, which will bring biometric payment cards based on our platform to banks in France and the Benelux region. KL HI-TECH is now ramping up its industrialization efforts to deliver Zwipe Pay ONE biometric payment cards to leading issuers in India and selected markets in the Middle East and Africa.
In response to strong interest in Zwipe Pay ONE Cards from card manufacturers, card bureaus, issuers and consumers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and in India, we have established a local presence by appointing a highly experienced General Manager for the MENA region and entering a collaboration with Masterline, a well-connected player in the field of fintech and payment solutions, as a Strategic Business Partner in India and beyond. We have also further strengthened our organization with several top payment industry talents both in the commercial and the R&D team. I am particularly delighted to welcome our new Chief Sales Officer, John Goodale, to my management team. John, who has a long and proven track record from one of the world’s largest processors, TSYS, and also from professional services at KPMG and DMR Consulting, is leading Zwipe’s engagement and conversion efforts with smart card manufacturers. He is also supporting our engagements with issuers and selected go-to-market partners to further strengthen Zwipe’s position in the global biometric payments market.
The growing interest in biometric payment cards has been noted in several independent analyst reports in recent months (notably from UBS, ABI Research, Goode Intelligence). The common theme in all these reports is their increased volume projections for biometric payment cards over the next 3 to 5 years, suggesting a share of 15-20 % of issued payment cards in 2026.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic a number of countries raised the contactless transaction limits in response to safety concerns from consumers when having to touch the payment terminals (most recently the UK treasury increased the contactless limit from 45 to 100 pounds).
While increasing the contactless limit is a very pragmatic solution in the pandemic times, this solution is unfortunately not very sustainable due to the underlying concerns on the lack of security in contactless payments. These concerns were also obvious from consumers’ comments in discussion forums when the UK treasure decided to more than double the contactless limits. For us, this is further proof that the natural and sustainable step from contact-less payments is contact-free payments, facilitated by biometric payment cards.
As we near completion of the development of Zwipe Pay ONE, which has been a journey we embarked on together with IDEMIA and other key partners almost two years ago, I am very excited to enter into the next phase of increased commercial efforts and subsequent roll-out to consumers.
Zwipe has a historically strong pipeline, a highly competent, passionate and agile organization managing a disruptive technology that is in demand in the market, and a robust ecosystem of partners taking an increasingly proactive role in promoting Zwipe. This is all laying a strong foundation for long-term value creation. The journey has just begun.
Financial Update
Sales revenues in Q1 2021 were MNOK 0.3 (MNOK 0.4).
Average monthly operational cash flow was MNOK -6.3 in Q1 2021 versus MNOK -5.8 in Q1 2020. The increase is in line with higher activity in the company. During the last quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, Zwipe has increased its staff in response to the increased demand for piloting and deployment of our payment solutions and services.
Zwipe was granted a second bank loan of MNOK 2.1 in February 2021 through the second draw of the US Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The loan is payable in five years. Zwipe may be eligible for partial or full loan forgiveness given fulfilment of a set of requirements.
The closing cash balance at the end of Q1 2021 was MNOK 108.9 (MNOK 54.6). The development in cash balance since Q4 2020 is primarily a result of operational cash flow of MNOK -18.8 and the second PPP bank loan of MNOK 2.1.
###
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, on 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 below, at 08:00 CET on 28 April 2021.
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
OSLO, NORWAY – 18 March 2021 – The primary insider Energetic AS, owned by André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe AS, has yesterday and today acquired a total of 416,000 shares. Energetic AS’ shareholding after the transaction is 916,000 shares.
The shares have been acquired as follows:
Euronext Growth Market in Oslo:
First North Growth Market in Stockholm:
Attached is a copy of the form submitted to the Norwegian FSA, Finanstilsynet, reporting the transactions as listed above.
###
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act § 5-12.
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
OSLO, NORWAY – 25 February 2021 – Zwipe AS today publishes its annual report 2020.
Highlights for 2020 include:
Financials
Revenues increased to MNOK 1.8 (MNOK 1.5).
Operating expenditures were reduced to MNOK 63.7 (MNOK 96.8). In constant currency, this represents a 38% reduction. The savings resulted from the streamlining program as announced in November 2019.
EBITDA improved to MNOK -59.9 (MNOK -92.0), mainly due to the implementation of the streamlining program.
Results before tax was MNOK – 61.9 (MNOK -94.9), and earnings per share improved to NOK -1.89 (-5.98).
Cash flow from operations before financing improved to MNOK –62.1 (-85.0). The cash flow in 2020 included co-investments with Idemia of MNOK 19.7, compared to MNOK 9.3 in 2019. Adjusted for these elements, the operating cash flow was improved by 39% compared to 2019.
The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend be paid for 2020.
Significant events 2020
Zwipe listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm, Sweden.
Zwipe expanded its growing network of industry partnerships covering Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa during 2020 including the 5 new customer partnerships announced; Masria Digital Payments, Watchdata Technologies, Toppan Forms Card Technologies, Asia Credit Card and Publicenter.
Zwipe also partnered with Liveo Research, Smart Technology Services, Wisecard and CardMatix, expanding our ecosystem to enable cost-efficient mass-volume manufacturing of biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay ONE.
Zwipe and Idex entered a collaboration framework for Zwipe Pay ONE. Idemia, Zwipe and Idex achieved several key milestones towards the next generation biometric card platform.
Zwipe and TietoEVRY joined forces with a landmark agreement to deliver biometric payment solutions based on the Zwipe Pay ONE solution to banks in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The agreement significantly increases our market reach as TietoEVRY is the leading provider of payment cards to issuers in these regions.
Zwipe secured a strong foothold in the Middle East through go-to-market partnerships with three leading players in card payments: areeba, Inkript and VeriTech.
Zwipe successfully completed a private placement, followed by a subsequent repair offering, issuing 7,381,315 new shares and raising approximately NOK 111 million in gross proceeds in total.
Zwipe placed an order for 300,000 units of Idex’s next generation fingerprint sensors to support the rollout of Zwipe Pay ONE.
Zwipe conducted several cardholder insight studies including some with our partners. Insights from the Nordics, UK and the United States show strong consumer interest for safer and more secure payments.
In partnership with TietoEVRY, Zwipe secured the first pilot program with Zwipe Pay ONE with OP Financial Group, the largest Financial Services Group in Finland.
Zwipe’s next-generation chip for biometric payment cards, in which Zwipe has co-invested with Idemia, obtained the ICCN security certification from EMVCo.
Significant Events after the period
Swedish fintech Vopy chose Zwipe’s biometric payment platform, Zwipe Pay ONE, for its biometric payment cards. Vopy’s partner network consists of telecom providers and financial institutions that reach millions of consumers.
Announced agreements with 4 new smart card manufacturers.
André Løvestam, CEO comments
"2020 was a landmark year for Zwipe. In 2020 we positioned the company for growth through significant expansion in our customer and partnership engagements, advances in our technology leadership, and by strengthening our organization. We have seen increased public awareness of the importance of contactless payment and a sharp rise in demand for safe and secure payment solutions. The Zwipe Pay ONE development project has now passed its most critical milestones and the first pilots incorporating Zwipe Pay ONE have already been announced. The next steps, in addition to full completion of our internal development, are to prepare our smart card manufacturers and issuers for pilots, certification and volume production, after which fully certified biometric payment cards will be available from our customers to issuers for full commercial launch,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
He added, “While COVID-19 has created and continues to create challenges to project execution, the elevated focus on safety following the pandemic has dramatically increased the growth of contactless transactions and transaction caps have been raised all over the world. Hygiene and safety are likely to become accelerators and game-changers for biometric payments for years to come. We experienced an unprecedented acceleration in our engagements with issuers and card manufacturers throughout 2020. We are engaging with more than 250 banks and over 40 of the world’s top 50 smart card manufacturers and our pipeline in both these segments has never been stronger. We are confident that our strategic partnerships, global technology excellence, focused engagements with issuers, as well as our end-to-end trusted advisor approach and unique one-stop-shop offering, are laying the foundation for many commercial wins ahead”.
“By bringing together leading suppliers of technology, payment cards, personalization, fulfilment services, and processing services, as well as issuers with a strong end-user focus, we have created an end-to-end ecosystem to deliver Biometric Payment Cards in key markets. We are well prepared to address a global market with strong long-term growth and value creation potential,” Løvestam concluded.
###
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 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 below, at 08:02 CET on 25 February 2021.
OSLO, NORWAY – 25 February 2021 – Zwipe AS today publishes its second half-year 2020 report.
Summary Financial development for second half-year:
Revenues of MNOK 1.0 (MNOK 1.2).
Operating expenditures were reduced to MNOK 31.3 (MNOK 60.2). In constant currency, this represents a 49% reduction. The reduction is due to cost of MNOK 19 in H2 2019 related to the jointly funded development collaboration with Idemia, as well as savings as a result of the streamlining program announced in November 2019.
EBITDA improved to MNOK -29.1 (MNOK -56.6) mainly due to the implementation of the streamlining program.
Results before tax was MNOK -30.4 (MNOK -58.8), and earnings per share of NOK -0.93 (NOK -3.69).
Cash flow from operations for the second half-year of MNOK -20.1 (MNOK -51).
The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend be paid for 2020.
The annual report 2020 will be released through a separate stock exchange announcement shortly after this announcement.
###
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 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 below, at 08:00 CET on 25 February 2021.
OSLO, NORWAY – 18 February 2021- The share capital increase of 21,832 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 19 January 2021, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,292,840.80, and the new number of shares and votes is 32,928,408.
###
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 continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Oslo Børs Merkur Market and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market.
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 below, at 21:10 CET on 18 February 2021.
