OSLO, NORWAY and MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – 2 March 2022 – Placard, Australia’s largest card manufacturer and the only one qualified by all major card schemes, has selected biometric fintech pioneer Zwipe as its technology partner in pursuing the global 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. Placard’s success over the past two decades is accredited to high-quality products and a deep understanding of how new technology and product innovations can benefit customers and societies at large. With the disruptive Zwipe Pay platform, Placard will be able to deliver highly advanced and secure biometric card products that are also exceedingly user-friendly.

“We are excited about the opportunity that this innovative technology represents. The biometric solution provided by Zwipe combines break-through technologies and is the ideal platform for the next generation of payment cards. We believe that highly secure touch-less payments and PIN-free cards create a very compelling proposition for consumers and that our collaboration with Zwipe will provide differentiation and meaningful commercial value to our customers”, said Tess Barone, General Manager Sales & Marketing, Placard.

As part of this agreement, Zwipe will provide biometric technology, technical services and go-to-market commercialization support to enable Placard to manufacture biometric cards. The partners will engage with issuers and other enterprises to run pilots from Q2 2022, followed by full commercial rollouts.

Commenting on this partnership, André Løvestam, CEO at Zwipe, said: “We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Placard, one of the most prominent card manufacturers in the Australasian region. There is a clear growing interest in biometric payment cards globally and Placard will be vital in accelerating the deployment of biometric payment cards to banks and consumers. Zwipe will be supporting Placard’s clients during their launch processes to ensure the best customer experience and successful commercialization.”

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About Placard

Placard is an Australian organization which has been established since 1987, and is Australia’s largest secure plastic card manufacturer. Placard is continuously expanding, providing comprehensive card programs to over 500 clients and producing upwards of 100 million cards per year. Placard provides  end to end card solutions and has a reputation of meeting its commitments to its clients and consistently achieves service levels beyond its clients’ expectations.

Placard’s secure manufacturing and bureau facilities are Visa, MasterCard, China Union Pay and American Express accredited to the highest level.

Placard’s core competencies lie in the design, printing, manufacture, personalization and mailing of ISO Standard secure and non-secure plastic cards. With Bureau services encompassing the latest Visa and MasterCard EMV standards for embossing, manufacture of Dual Interface cards, magnetic stripe encoding, indent printing, thermal print duable flat graphics, high quality Drop on Demand personalization, laser printing processes and intelligent matching & mailing services.

For more information, please visit www.placard.com.au or call Tess Barone, General Manager, Sales & Marketing on +61 3 9722 5200.

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 further information please contact:

André Løvestam, CEO, +47 934 36 952, info@zwipe.com