OSLO, NORWAY – 14 September 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Cardmatix Ltd., a leading supplier of card manufacturing equipment, are partnering to collaborate on the design, development and commercialization of equipment and modular solutions to support milling and embedding of fingerprint sensors for biometric payment card manufacturing at mass volumes.
Headquartered in Dongguan, China, Cardmatix is a leading player in the development of industrial manufacturing and testing equipment specifically for mass production of payment cards.
“We have cooperated closely with Zwipe through our sister company Silone Cardtech, and we are convinced the biometric payment card market is poised for mass-volume take-off. Our industrial solutions will make smart card manufacturers’ job of producing millions of biometric payment cards much more cost-efficient thanks to the unique insights shared by Zwipe’s technical team,” said Cardmatix CEO, Mr. John Wu.
Zwipe has a long-standing collaboration with Silone Cardtech. The Chinese market is expected to see strong payment card growth with many established stakeholders fast-tracking their capacity to support demand.
“This is an important step in preparing our supply chain and global capacity to meet future demand. Cardmatix is one of the world’s most well-established high-volume card manufacturing equipment providers and we are excited to broaden our ability to serve our customers with their strong support.” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About CardMatix Ltd.
Cardmatix was established in 2002 to focus on the manufacturing of equipment for the production and testing of contact, contactless, and dual-interface smart cards for the world market. With 20 years’ experience in design, manufacturing, and marketing on smart card production related machineries, Cardmatix has been one of the leading solution providers worldwide in the card industry with durable, high speed machines engineered for easy maintenance and years of reliable service.
For more information contact: John Wu, CEO +86 0769 86855889
OSLO, NORWAY - 08 September 2020- The board of directors of Zwipe AS call for an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 29 September 2020 at 10:00 CET.
Please find enclosed the notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Notice of attendance, in person or by proxy, shall be given no later than 28 September 2020 at 16:00 CET. Shareholders are encouraged to register via the following link 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.
The board of directors (the "Board") has proposed the following agenda:
Proposed decisions from the Board and the Nomination Committee (extracts only, please see the attachments to the notice for the full proposals)
Matter no. 4: Approval of capital increase directed against the chair of the Board
The general meeting resolved to approve the board's use of the authorization to increase the share capital to strengthen the Company's equity to issue and allocate shares to the chair of the board of directors in the board meeting on 7 September 2020.
Matter no. 5: Proposal to issue a new authorization to the Board to strengthen the Company's equity
As the Board has used the registered authorization to strengthen the Company's equity to complete the Private Placement, the Board proposes that the general meeting resolves to issue a new authorization to the board to increase the Company's equity (including to facilitate for a potential repair issue).
The board of directors is hereby granted authorization to increase the company's share capital, on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 319,065.80 (3,190,658 new shares), equivalent to 10% of the share capital after the Private Placement has been completed.
The authorization may be used to issue shares to strengthen the company's equity to the extent the board of directors considers this to be in the company's best interest at the given time.
Matter no. 6: Proposal to amend the provision in the articles of association on notice period for the general meeting
The notice period to the general meeting (ordinary and extraordinary) is 7 days, from 21 days in the company’s articles of association prior to this meeting.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards and wearables 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
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 15:20 CET on 08 September 2020.
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THE PRESS RELEASE.
OSLO, NORWAY – 07 September 2020 – Reference is made to the stock exchange release from Zwipe AS (“Zwipe” or the “Company”) published earlier this evening regarding a contemplated private placement.
The Company is pleased to announce that it has raised approximately NOK 96 million in gross proceeds through a private placement (the "Private Placement") of 6,381,315 new shares (the "New Shares"), at a price of NOK 15 per share. The Private Placement took place through an accelerated book building process managed by retained Arctic Securities AS and Erik Penser Bank AB (publ) as joint bookrunners (together the "Managers") after close of markets on 7 September 2020. The Offer Shares were placed to international institutional investors and existing shareholders of the Company.
The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to fund further development and commercialization of the Company, general operating cost and strategic investments.
André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said: "After completion of this private placement, Zwipe is funded through commercial launches in 2021 and beyond based on the current business plan and market assumptions. We now look forward to taking a leading role in the biometric payment space and embarking on a long journey of value creation for our customers, our shareholders and society at large.”
Jörgen Lantto, chairman of the board of directors of Zwipe (“the Board”) said: “We are humble and proud to receive overwhelming support from high quality international and Nordic institutional investors, considerably strengthening our shareholder base. In particular, the new funding will allow the company to further accelerate our commercial activities to cater for the strong demand from smart card manufacturers and card issuers for Zwipe Pay ONE, our new technology platform for biometric payment cards”.
The payment date for the Offer Shares will be on or about 10 September 2020, with delivery of the Offer Shares expected on or about 14 September 2020. The Offer Shares will be tradable following the registration of the share capital increase in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises expected to take place on or about 14 September 2020, and trading is expected to commence simultaneously at Merkur Market and Nasdaq First North Growth Market on or about 14 September 2020.
The completion of the Private Placement was subject to approval by the Board pursuant to an authorisation to increase the share capital given by the annual general meeting held on 14 May 2020.
Following registration of the new share capital pertaining to the Private Placement, the Company will have 31,906,576 shares outstanding, each with a par value of NOK 0.10.
Primary insider Jörgen Lantto, chairman of the Company, was allocated 333,333 shares in the Private Placement. Mr. Lantto's shareholding after completion of the rights issue will be 866,666 shares. The allocation of shares to Jörgen Lantto is subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting.
Primary insider Energetic AS, owned by André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, was allocated 20,000 shares in the Private Placement. Following this transaction, André Løvestam owns 500,000 shares in the Company through Energetic AS.
Primary insider Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO of Zwipe, was allocated 20,000 shares in the Private Placement. Following this transaction, Lars Kristian Solheim owns 90,000 shares in the Company.
Primary insider Bishwajit Choudhary, EVP of Strategy and Channels of Zwipe, was allocated 20,000 shares in the Private Placement. Following this transaction, Bishwajit Choudhary owns 25,500 shares in the Company.
Primary insider Dr. Robert Mueller, CTO of Zwipe, was allocated 20,000 shares in the Private Placement. Following this transaction, Dr. Robert Mueller owns 48,572 shares in the Company.
Primary insider Eric Mercer, CEO of Zwipe America Inc., was allocated 5,500 shares in the Private Placement. Following this transaction, Eric Mercer owns 5 500 shares in the Company.
The Board will shortly call for an extraordinary general meeting, to be held on or about 29 September 2020 (“the EGM”), which will be requested, inter alia, to make a new authorisation to the Board to issue shares to strengthen the Company's equity. Provided that the EGM provides the authorisation, it is the Board's intention to use this to carry out a subsequent offering of up to NOK 15 million / 1,000,000 shares towards shareholders of the Company as of 7 September 2020 (as registered in the VPS and Euroclear Sweden AB) who (i) were not allocated Offer Shares in the Private Placement, and (ii) are not resident in a jurisdiction where such offering would be unlawful, or would (in jurisdictions other than Norway and Sweden) require any prospectus, filing, registration or similar action. Such shareholders will be granted non-transferable subscription rights to subscribe for, and, upon subscription, be allocated new shares. One subscription right will entitle the holder to subscribe for one share in the Subsequent Offering. Oversubscription and subscription without rights will be allowed. The subscription price in the Subsequent Offering will be the same as the subscription price in the Private Placement. The Subsequent Offering will, if approved, commence after a prospectus describing the Subsequent Offering has been approved by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. The Board may at its discretion decide not to proceed with the Subsequent Offering.
The Board has considered the offering of new shares in Private Placement in light of the equal treatment obligations under the Continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Merkur Market and Oslo Børs' Circular no. 2/2014, and is of the opinion that the contemplated transaction is in compliance with these requirements. The Board of Directors concluded that the waiver of the preferential rights inherent in a private placement was considered necessary in the interest of time and successful completion of the share issue. The Private Placement will allow the Company to raise capital faster, with a lower discount and with significantly lower transaction costs than what a rights issue would entail, and it will also allow for the Company to strengthen its shareholder base to the benefit of the shareholders and the Company. On this basis, and based on an assessment of the current equity markets, the Board has considered the Private Placement to be in the common interest of the Company and its shareholders. As a consequence of the Private Placement structure, the shareholders' preferential rights will be deviated from.
Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS is acting as legal advisor to Zwipe with respect to Norwegian law, White & Case Advokat AB and Kanter Advokatbyrå KB are acting as legal advisor with respect to Swedish law.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards and wearables 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 ir@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obliged to make public pursuant to the Continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Oslo Børs Merkur Market, 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) 8 528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 23:50 CET on 7 September 2020.
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This release is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States, or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States.
The issue, subscription or purchase of shares in the Company is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.
The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Private Placement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Private Placement and/or any other matter referred to in this release.
Forward-looking statements: This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THE PRESS RELEASE.
OSLO, NORWAY – 07 September 2020 – Zwipe AS (“Zwipe” or the “Company”) has retained Arctic Securities AS and Erik Penser Bank AB (publ) as joint bookrunners (the "Managers") to advise on and effect a private placement of up to 6,381,315 new shares (the “Offer Shares”) equal to 25% of the outstanding shares in the Company, directed towards Norwegian and international investors, in each case subject to and in compliance with applicable exemptions from relevant registration, filing and prospectus requirements, and subject to other applicable selling restrictions (the "Private Placement"). The Managers have prior to launch received indications of demand covering the transaction size.
Jörgen Lantto, chair of the Company’s Board of directors (“the Board”), has committed to subscribe for new shares in the Private Placement for a subscription amount of NOK 5 million, subject to approval by an extraordinary general meeting in the Company to be convened shortly after allocation of the Private Placement (the "EGM").
André Løvestam, CEO, Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO, Bishwajit Choudhary, EVP of Strategy and Channels, and Dr. Robert Mueller, CTO, have all committed to subscribe for 20 000 new shares each in the Private Placement. Eric Mercer, CEO of Zwipe America Inc, has committed to subscribe for 5 500 new shares in the Private Placement.
The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to fund further development and commercialization of the Company, general operating costs and strategic investments. After completion of this private placement, Zwipe is funded through commercial launches in 2021 and beyond based on the current business plan and market assumptions.
The subscription price and number of Offer Shares to be issued in the Private Placement will be determined by the Board following an accelerated book building process. The minimum application and allocation amount have been set to the NOK equivalent of EUR 100,000. The Company may however, at its sole discretion, allocate an amount below EUR 100,000 to the extent applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirement pursuant to the EU Prospectus Regulation (as implemented in Norway by the Norwegian Securities Trading Act and through similar legislation in other EEA states) are available.
The book building period for the Private Placement commences today at 17:30 CEST and closes 7 September 2020 at 21:00 CEST. The Managers and the Company may, however, at any time resolve to close or extend the book building period, or cancel the Private Placement, at their sole discretion and on short notice. If the book building period is shortened or extended, any other dates referred to herein may be amended accordingly. Allocation of the Offer Shares will be determined at the end of the book building period, and the final allocation will be made by the Board at its sole discretion, following advice from the Managers. Notice of allocation of Offer Shares is expected to be sent to the investors on or about 8 September 2020.
The payment date for the Offer Shares will be on or about 10 September 2020, with delivery of the Offer Shares expected on or about 14 September 2020. The Offer Shares will be tradable following the registration of the share capital increase in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises expected to take place on or about 14 September 2020, and trading is expected to commence simultaneously at Merkur Market and Nasdaq First North Growth Market on or about 14 September 2020.
The completion of the Private Placement is subject to approval by the Board of the Company pursuant to an authorization to increase the share capital given by the annual general meeting held on 14 May 2020.
The Board has considered the offering of new shares in Private Placement in light of the equal treatment obligations under the Continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Merkur Market and Oslo Børs' Circular no. 2/2014, and is of the opinion that the contemplated transaction is in compliance with these requirements. The Board of Directors concluded that the waiver of the preferential rights inherent in a private placement was considered necessary in the interest of time and successful completion of the share issue. The Private Placement will allow the Company to raise capital faster, with a lower discount and with significantly lower transaction costs than what a rights issue would entail, and it will also allow for the Company to broaden its shareholder base to the benefit of the shareholders and the Company. On this basis, and based on an assessment of the current equity markets, the Board has considered the Private Placement to be in the common interest of the Company and its shareholders. As a consequence of the Private Placement structure, the shareholders' preferential rights will be deviated from.
The Private Placement is directed towards investors subject to applicable exemptions from relevant prospectus requirements (i) outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “US Securities Act”) and (ii) in the United States to "accredited investors" as defined in the US Securities Act Rule 501(a), acquiring the Offer Shares for investment purposes for its own account, or pursuant to another exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act.
The Board will consider to carry out a subsequent offering of new shares in the Company (the “Subsequent Offering”) which, subject to applicable securities laws, will be directed towards existing shareholders in the Company as of 7 September 2020 (as registered in the VPS and Euroclear Sweden AB on 9 September 2020) who (i) were not allocated Offer Shares in the Private Placement, and (ii) are not resident in a jurisdiction where such offering would be unlawful, or would (in jurisdictions other than Norway and Sweden) require any prospectus, filing, registration or similar action. The subscription price in a potential Subsequent Offering will be equal to the subscription price in the Private Placement.
Existing shareholders that participate in the Private Placement will irrevocably undertake to vote for their shares in favor of the resolution(s) proposed at the EGM to issue shares to Jörgen Lantto and the potential Subsequent Offering.
Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS is acting as legal advisor to Zwipe with respect to Norwegian law, and White & Case Advokat AB and Kanter Advokatbyrå KB are acting as legal advisors with respect to Swedish law.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards and wearables 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 ir@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obliged to make public pursuant to the Continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Oslo Børs Merkur Market, 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 17:40 CET on 7 September 2020.
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This release is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States, or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States.
The issue, subscription or purchase of shares in the Company is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.
The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Private Placement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Private Placement and/or any other matter referred to in this release.
Forward-looking statements: This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
OSLO, NORWAY – 27 August 2020, CET 09:40 – Zwipe AS today publishes its half-year report for H1 2020.
The update is with reference to the EU Market Abuse Regulations
Highlights for first half-year 2020 include:
Financials
Second Quarter
First Half Year
Significant events during the period
Significant actions after the period
CEO comment
The first half of 2020 has been very productive, and a period marked by progress and major achievements for Zwipe. At a time when the public is particularly attuned to the benefits of social distancing, the payment ecosystem has increasingly embraced the need for secure, contactless payment technologies. COVID-19 has been a game-changer for market acceptance of the need for truly touchless payment solutions such as those offered by Zwipe.
The year began with Zwipe successfully listing on Nasdaq’s First North Growth Market in Sweden, boosting liquidity and investor awareness through access to a broader investor community.
We continued building our end-to-end ecosystem, expanding our customer network globally, forging several new strategic technical partnerships, securing important orders and extending exclusive partnerships. All of this while continuing to make progress on our previously announced key projects, Zwipe Pay ONE with IDEMIA and IDEX, and the wearables project with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the focus on safety and significantly increased the growth of contactless transactions. This, in turn has led to raised contactless transaction limits all over the world and has served to highlight the improved hygiene and safety benefits of biometric payments. During 2020, the first announcements of upcoming small-scale commercial launches of biometric payment cards to consumers have been made, proving that the industry is ready to start serving a mass market.
We believe we hold the key to the next step of broad-scale, high-volume adoption of biometric payment cards through our cooperation with IDEMIA on Zwipe Pay ONE, which will reduce manufacturing cost for biometric payment cards to a level that enables card issuers to start mass-volume deployment.
Consequently, we are doubling down our efforts to serve the market, with immediate results. As previously announced, we have an ongoing dialogue with more than 40 out of the world’s top 50 smart card manufacturers. During H1 2020 we have seen very good progress in our sales pipeline. We have announced that five new smart card manufacturers have decided to adopt Zwipe Pay ONE once it is available for early sampling, planned for later in 2020, and our prospect list and pipeline are continuously increasing. These are the clearest indications of demand for our solutions.
During the period we also began to engage directly with issuers and banks. Early insights suggest that a sizable number of consumers are willing to pay a meaningful monthly fee for biometric payment cards. We have been able to initiate fruitful engagements with multiple banks on how to profitably deploy biometric payment cards to consumers in large scale. This has strongly resonated across the payments and cards ecosystem, creating a wave of interest in what we uniquely offer to the marketplace.
Zwipe builds its competitive position on combining cost and performance leadership with our value-adding trusted advisor/systems integrator role. This combination is the cornerstone in Zwipe’s ambitions towards mass market deployments of Biometric Payment Cards and wearables.
In the second half of 2019 we streamlined costs and lasered in on core processes to achieve mass-volume market readiness for Zwipe. Our progress in recent months is proof that we are on the right path. Our technology partnership with IDEMIA has secured Zwipe world-wide, exclusive ownership to a disruptive technology platform with superior energy efficiency and excellent biometric performance, positioning Zwipe for cost- and technology leadership.
Leveraging the deep systems know-how of our organization, we are also teaming up with other component suppliers and manufacturing partners to further simplify adoption and reduce the total cost of Zwipe Pay ONE. I am excited by the results of these efforts, which secure our ability to meet the aggressive cost targets we have set for Zwipe Pay ONE. We remain on track with regards to the development of Zwipe Pay ONE, having met all significant milestones during the period. We are confident that our cost leadership strategy is enabling us to bring a very compelling offering to our customers, while laying the foundation for a sound long-term business and value creation for Zwipe as the market matures.
Thanks to the experience gained from being fully dedicated to Biometric Payment Cards from the outset, we are a trusted advisor to smart card manufacturers and card issuers, advising them on what is needed to launch Biometric Payment Cards including user experience and customer onboarding.
This comprehensive approach makes Zwipe stand-out in the crowd. Zwipe’s uniqueness is in the combination of our know-how, network, patents and technology. We make the entire process of evaluating, building, integrating, and deploying a biometric payment solution simple. We provide the components and build the inlays necessary for the smart card manufacturers. We are building an ecosystem of partners to enable card manufacturers and issuers a frictionless route to launching Biometric Payment Cards. This cooperative approach is central to supporting the growth of the overall Biometric Payment Card market, but also key to cementing Zwipe’s position and role. By giving banks and issuers, alongside our smart card manufacturing partners, a one-stop shop for the most cost effective and compelling route to launching an innovative, rapidly deployable contactless payment solution, we are building a commercial path that creates sustainable long-term value for our customers.
Cardholders and consumers around the world are demanding greater safety and security when paying for goods, and they want convenience too, which is the background for our mission of “making convenience safe and secure”. I am confident that we are on track to deliver on our mission and fulfil our pivotal role in supporting our many communities tackle the risks posed by COVID-19 at the point of sale.
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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 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 09:40 CET on 27 August 2020.
OSLO, NORWAY – 27 August 2020, CET 08:00 – Zwipe AS today publishes its half-year report for H1 2020.
Highlights for first half-year 2020 include:
Financials
Second Quarter
First Half Year
Significant events during the period
Significant actions after the period
CEO comment
The first half of 2020 has been very productive, and a period marked by progress and major achievements for Zwipe. At a time when the public is particularly attuned to the benefits of social distancing, the payment ecosystem has increasingly embraced the need for secure, contactless payment technologies. COVID-19 has been a game-changer for market acceptance of the need for truly touchless payment solutions such as those offered by Zwipe.
The year began with Zwipe successfully listing on Nasdaq’s First North Growth Market in Sweden, boosting liquidity and investor awareness through access to a broader investor community.
We continued building our end-to-end ecosystem, expanding our customer network globally, forging several new strategic technical partnerships, securing important orders and extending exclusive partnerships. All of this while continuing to make progress on our previously announced key projects, Zwipe Pay ONE with IDEMIA and IDEX, and the wearables project with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the focus on safety and significantly increased the growth of contactless transactions. This, in turn has led to raised contactless transaction limits all over the world and has served to highlight the improved hygiene and safety benefits of biometric payments. During 2020, the first announcements of upcoming small-scale commercial launches of biometric payment cards to consumers have been made, proving that the industry is ready to start serving a mass market.
We believe we hold the key to the next step of broad-scale, high-volume adoption of biometric payment cards through our cooperation with IDEMIA on Zwipe Pay ONE, which will reduce manufacturing cost for biometric payment cards to a level that enables card issuers to start mass-volume deployment.
Consequently, we are doubling down our efforts to serve the market, with immediate results. As previously announced, we have an ongoing dialogue with more than 40 out of the world’s top 50 smart card manufacturers. During H1 2020 we have seen very good progress in our sales pipeline. We have announced that five new smart card manufacturers have decided to adopt Zwipe Pay ONE once it is available for early sampling, planned for later in 2020, and our prospect list and pipeline are continuously increasing. These are the clearest indications of demand for our solutions.
During the period we also began to engage directly with issuers and banks. Early insights suggest that a sizable number of consumers are willing to pay a meaningful monthly fee for biometric payment cards. We have been able to initiate fruitful engagements with multiple banks on how to profitably deploy biometric payment cards to consumers in large scale. This has strongly resonated across the payments and cards ecosystem, creating a wave of interest in what we uniquely offer to the marketplace.
Zwipe builds its competitive position on combining cost and performance leadership with our value-adding trusted advisor/systems integrator role. This combination is the cornerstone in Zwipe’s ambitions towards mass market deployments of Biometric Payment Cards and wearables.
In the second half of 2019 we streamlined costs and lasered in on core processes to achieve mass-volume market readiness for Zwipe. Our progress in recent months is proof that we are on the right path. Our technology partnership with IDEMIA has secured Zwipe world-wide, exclusive ownership to a disruptive technology platform with superior energy efficiency and excellent biometric performance, positioning Zwipe for cost- and technology leadership.
Leveraging the deep systems know-how of our organization, we are also teaming up with other component suppliers and manufacturing partners to further simplify adoption and reduce the total cost of Zwipe Pay ONE. I am excited by the results of these efforts, which secure our ability to meet the aggressive cost targets we have set for Zwipe Pay ONE. We remain on track with regards to the development of Zwipe Pay ONE, having met all significant milestones during the period. We are confident that our cost leadership strategy is enabling us to bring a very compelling offering to our customers, while laying the foundation for a sound long-term business and value creation for Zwipe as the market matures.
Thanks to the experience gained from being fully dedicated to Biometric Payment Cards from the outset, we are a trusted advisor to smart card manufacturers and card issuers, advising them on what is needed to launch Biometric Payment Cards including user experience and customer onboarding.
This comprehensive approach makes Zwipe stand-out in the crowd. Zwipe’s uniqueness is in the combination of our know-how, network, patents and technology. We make the entire process of evaluating, building, integrating, and deploying a biometric payment solution simple. We provide the components and build the inlays necessary for the smart card manufacturers. We are building an ecosystem of partners to enable card manufacturers and issuers a frictionless route to launching Biometric Payment Cards. This cooperative approach is central to supporting the growth of the overall Biometric Payment Card market, but also key to cementing Zwipe’s position and role. By giving banks and issuers, alongside our smart card manufacturing partners, a one-stop shop for the most cost effective and compelling route to launching an innovative, rapidly deployable contactless payment solution, we are building a commercial path that creates sustainable long-term value for our customers.
Cardholders and consumers around the world are demanding greater safety and security when paying for goods, and they want convenience too, which is the background for our mission of “making convenience safe and secure”. I am confident that we are on track to deliver on our mission and fulfil our pivotal role in supporting our many communities tackle the risks posed by COVID-19 at the point of sale.
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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 08:00 CET on 27 August 2020.
OSLO, NORWAY– August 20th, 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Wisecard Technology, a leading supplier of EMV personalization and payment solutions, have partnered to support the industrialization of biometric payments solutions.
Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Wisecard Technology Ltd. specializes in personalization software development, primarily focusing on the smart card payment industry. As a leading provider of EMV personalization services, the company will support the co-development of personalization offerings for the Zwipe Pay family of products and solutions.
“We are excited to work closely with Zwipe to tap into the huge potential we see for biometrics in the payments market. Zwipe has led the way in establishing a global network of partners to make the launch of biometric payment cards and wearables at scale as effortless and cost-effective as possible. We are keen to support this mission and bring safer and more secure payment options to consumers around the world,” says, Kevin Yi, Vice President at Wisecard.
Smart card manufacturers will benefit from the collaboration by having access to a validated and proven personalization process for their biometric payment cards powered by Zwipe technology.
Speaking on the partnership André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, says “We are excited to partner with Wisecard as we continue to expand our ecosystem and our capacity to provide the most comprehensive and compelling offerings within biometric payments to smart card manufacturers and issuers, further cementing the value-add we bring to our customers.”
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About Wisecard Technology
Wisecard Technology Co , Ltd. is a solution provider for smart card issuance and innovative payment platforms with more cost effective and user friendly features. Wisecard has invested heavily on technological innovation and product development. This has resulted in the creation of leading solutions in the area of Card Management and Personalization, payment systems, which have been compliant with the regulations from international payment schemes. Wisecard has always had a strong customer service focus and built leading edge professional services organization, delivering high class product and process support around the world. After a decade of providing cost-effective, innovative and vendor independent solutions that enable customers to improve their operational processes, Wisecard has successfully deployed solutions in more than 60 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America.
To learn more, please visit www.wisecardtech.com
For more information contact: Kevin Yi, Vice President, + 86 755 86007346 sales@wisecardtech.com
OSLO, NORWAY– 18 August 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Smart Technology Services (STS), one of the world’s first equipment manufacturers to develop a biometric payment card milling and embedding enabled system, have expanded their previously announced partnership to support the industrialization of dual interface biometric payment cards using Zwipe Pay ONE platform.
Headquartered in France, STS is a leading player in the development of industrial manufacturing equipment specifically for the production and personalization of smart cards. The two companies have jointly developed integrated solutions that will enable Smart Card Manufacturers (SCMs) to achieve a risk-free and agile industrialization of biometric payment cards.
“Zwipe has been one of the leaders in the development of biometric payment platforms while we have developed manufacturing processes to enable SCMs to successfully reach a true volume offer capability for such cards. We have worked very closely together over the last year to fine-tune our complementary offering in order to support smart card manufacturers as they adopt and begin to roll out cards based on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform,” said Thierry Buisson, CEO of STS, speaking on the ramping up of activities.
“Our expanded partnership with STS has mitigated project risks and reduced the capital expenditure needed to enable the production of biometric payment cards. This will further strengthen our respective positions in the market and accelerate the adoption of biometric payment cards,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Smart Technology Services
Founded in 2013 in France, Smart Technology Services provides high level support services and card personalization solutions to card manufacturers and bureaus worldwide. The company provides services support activities for card central issuance systems and secondhand systems It also supplies the Smart Evol 1000 – a fully modular mid-range card personalization system, and the SI20 and SI700 – versatile card production systems for contact, dual interface, and biometric cards.
Please visit http://stservices.fr for further information
OSLO, NORWAY– 28 JULY 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Liveo Research, a major supplier of PVC materials to some of the world’s largest card manufacturers, have partnered to offer a highly optimized route to efficient and scalable manufacturing of biometric payment cards. This is key in supporting the ongoing industrialization of the Zwipe Pay family of products.
Liveo Research is a global manufacturer of rigid packaging solutions focusing on pharma packaging innovations, specialty films and card solutions. With around 1,100 employees across five locations worldwide, Liveo is generating annual sales of more than 350 million euros.
“We are excited to collaborate with Zwipe, a pioneer in the field of biometric payment cards, to promote and roll out the Zwipe Pay ONE platform that will radically reduce the cost and complexity associated with card production process”, says Managing Director at Liveo Research, Mr. Pietro Parmeggiani.
Speaking on the partnership André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe says, “This showcases how Zwipe is leveraging the payment ecosystem’s key players to enable best-in-class solutions and grow the biometric payment card segment. Liveo Research is a strong stakeholder and working together we will be able to further strengthen the value proposition to smart card manufacturers.”
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About Liveo Research
Since 1953 Liveo Research’s Castiglione facility has been at the forefront of technological innovation in vinyl calendaring. Decades of commitment to manufacturing quality and enhanced rigid films properties has given Liveo’s card manufacturers the extra edge to easily move into new niche market with even newer technological requirement. Today, Liveo’s SICO films are sought after for high quality secure payment cards, e-government, IoT SIM/GSM, M2M, access controls cards, where they withstand daily handling while maintaining a pristine appearance and data integrity. Liveo Research SICO films are available globally with two primary manufacturing sites, Castiglione, Italy, where it all began and, Delaware City, DE, USA. To learn more, visit www.liveoresearch.com
For more information contact: cs.eu@liveo-research.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 8 FEBRUARY 2023 - Reference is made to the extraordinary general meeting held on 2 December 2022 in Zwipe AS (the "Company" or "Zwipe"), regarding the resolution to complete a guaranteed rights issue in the Company, raising gross proceeds of approximately NOK 100 million (the "Rights Issue”).
Due to the Norwegian Private Limited Liability Companies Act requiring that the subscription period in share capital increases cannot be later than three months from the general meeting's resolution on the share capital increase and because the subscription period for the Rights Issue is planned to begin on 6 March 2023 and end on 20 March 2023, the board of directors of Zwipe (the "Board") calls for a new extraordinary general meeting (the "EGM") to repeat the resolution resolved by the extraordinary general meeting on 2 December 2022 by making the same resolution once again. For the avoidance of doubt, the Rights Issue to be voted on at the EGM is the same Rights Issue as was resolved by the general meeting on 2 December 2022. Further, the Board proposes that the Company's articles of association are amended to facilitate advanced voting at future general meetings.
The EGM will be held on 15 February 2023 at 12:00 hours CET. The general meeting will be held as a virtual meeting on Microsoft Teams.
Please find attached the notice to the EGM. The notice is also available on the Company's website, https://zwipe.com/investors.
The deadline for registration of attendance and proxies is 14 February 2023 at 16:00 hours CET. Shareholders are encouraged to register their notice of attendance and proxies via the link found on the Company's website https://zwipe.com/investors/general-meetings.
Alternatively, the notice of attendance and proxy forms included in the notice may be sent by e-mail to genf@dnb.no, or by regular post to DNB Bank ASA, Registrar's Department, P.O. Box 1600 Sentrum, 0021 Oslo, Norway.
In order to receive the link to the Microsoft Teams meeting, Zwipe's administration will need to have the shareholder's or proxy holder's e-mail address in advance. Thus, shareholders must after having registered their attendance also register their or its proxy's e-mail address by sending an email to ir@zwipe.com.
The Board has proposed the following agenda:
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
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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 (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12:00 CET on 8 February 2023.
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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
Tel: +47 909 98 201 and e-mail: ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and GURUGRAM, INDIA – 8 FEBRUARY 2023 – Antworks Money, a Gurugram based neobanking platform, has selected Zwipe to offer biometric payment cards in India. With this partnership Zwipe will gain further traction in the Indian market for biometric payment cards.
As part of the collaboration both companies have agreed to develop and leverage the growing market opportunities in India for biometric on-card payment solutions. Moving forward Antworks Money will promote Zwipe Pay solutions to banks and financial institutions in India and collaborate with Zwipe’s local card manufacturing partners
Commenting on this Rajeev Mahajan, Founder and CEO of Antworks Money said “Our partnership with Zwipe will enable us to start offering Zwipe’s products to banks, credit card issuers and PPI card issuers. We believe that Zwipe’s products are well suited for the Indian market and will help to eliminate the fraudulent use of contactless payment cards. We are also planning to introduce co-branded credit cards in partnership with a bank, which will have Zwipe’s biometric cards as one of the key differentiators.”
“The Indian fintech sector is witnessing significant progress and we are proud to partner with Antworks Money who provide a wide range of credit-focused neobanking services in the region. This is a landmark agreement for Zwipe that will help to drive our growth plans in the Indian market,” said Robert Puskaric, CEO of Zwipe.
About Antworks Money
Antworks Money is in the business of providing full stack neobanking services to small businesses and their employees. Antworks Money has partnered with well-known banks and NBFCs to offer neobanking services to its users. To learn more, please visit www.antworksmoney.com. For product information please email at paymentcards@antworksmoney.com
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 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, please visit www.zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 3 February 2023 – Zwipe AS ("Zwipe" or "the company") today announces its results for the second half of 2022.
Significant events H2 2022
H2 2022 operational review
Zwipe ended the year on a positive note with sequential quarterly growth of 172% and 2.3 mNOK in Q4 revenue, the highest sales revenue in a quarter in Zwipe’s history. During the fourth quarter, we announced the single largest commercial order in a quarter to date for Zwipe and received other smaller orders from SCMs in the Middle East and Asia. Further traction with these SCMS is expected in 2023.
Zwipe’s first major focus for Zwipe Pay in the period was on executing our signed issuers’ pilots. In total, seven issuer pilot projects are being executed – including our first pilot with a major Nordic bank, the global Tier-1 bank pilot and the MEPS pilot. Owing to recently implemented technical changes to improve user experience and product performance, we expect not only streamlined pilot project execution but a significantly faster pace of pilot project launches in the coming quarters.
The second focus for Zwipe Pay in the second half was helping our SCM customers get certified and production ready. KL Hi-Tech in India became the fourth SCM to receive their Visa LoA for production of BPCs using the Zwipe Pay platform, while Tag Systems became the first customer to receive approval from Mastercard. The latter followed Zwipe’s own certification from Mastercard in August.
For Zwipe Access, we continued to lay the groundwork for commercial deployments in 2023. We successfully completed the pilot project for Fraport AG at Frankfurt International Airport, and Zwipe is shortlisted as an access control solutions provider when Fraport moves forward with its tender process in 2023. We also further strengthened our position in the airport vertical when Civix, a leading US provider of airport security solutions, selected Zwipe’s access control technology to augment their airport security propositions.
On the organizational side, after significant management changes in the first half, Jens Hansen joined the management team in September to head up the newly created Customer Success department.
H2 2022 financial review
Zwipe reported total revenues of 3.1 mNOK during H2 2022 versus 1.1 mNOK in H2 2021, mostly related to the sale of payment products and services. Total operating expenses increased by 2.1 mNOK to 59.6 mNOK in H2 2022 from 57.5 mNOK in H2 2021. Net income for H2 2022 was -56.5 mNOK, essentially unchanged from -56.4 mNOK in H2 2021. For the full year, revenue was 3.9 mNOK compared to 2.5 mNOK in 2021. Adjusted EBITDA totaled -96.4 mNOK in 2022 compared to -81.7 mNOK in 2021.
During the second half of 2022, cash flow from operations and investments, before financing and facilitation, decreased by -13.4 mNOK to -60.6 mNOK. The underlying average monthly operating cash flow in the second half of 2022 was -10.1 mNOK compared to -7.9 mNOK in the same period last year. This was in line with expectations, and the average monthly burn rate is expected to decrease again in 2023.
On 31 December 2022, cash and equivalents were 50.5 mNOK, down from 152.3 mNOK at the end of 2021, and down from 109.7 mNOK on 30 June 2022. Total equity as of 31 December 2022 was 55.4 mNOK. Total liabilities totaled 14.1 mNOK on 31 December 2022 and were entirely comprised of short-term liabilities. This resulted in an equity ratio of 80%, roughly stable versus the position at the end of 2021.
On 22 November 2022, Zwipe announced a rights issue raising approximately 100 mNOK in capital. The rights issue is fully guaranteed through a combination of subscription commitments and underwriting commitments from the three largest shareholders in Zwipe. It is being carried out in order to strengthen the company’s financial position and enable the transition from start-up to scale-up. The transaction is expected to close in March 2023 and will ensure the Group has sufficient working capital for the period covering at least 12 months from the date of close.
Going forward
We enter the new year with good momentum in the order book and belief that organization is structured to enable a year of significant growth. Zwipe will use the funds from the rights issue to execute on our technology roadmap, accelerate our go-to-market strategy in both Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access, assist our SCMs in becoming certified and mass production ready, and progress more rapidly with pilot projects.
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Results presentation
CEO Robert Puskaric and CFO Danielle Glenn will present the H2 2022 results by webcast today, Friday February 3rd, at 10:00 CEST.
Webcast details
Date: 3 February 2023
Time: 10:00 CET
Format: Webcast and Q&A
Language: English
Link: https://app.webinar.net/jQ7xPJLdgnw
Participants will be required to register to view the webcast and participate in the Q&A
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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in the Market Abuse Regulation (EU 596/2014) and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12, and is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se . The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 08:00 on 3 February 2023.
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
OSLO, NORWAY – 30 January 2023 – Zwipe AS will publish its H2 2022 report on 3 February 2023 at 08:00 CET. On the same day at 10:00 CET, the Company will host a webcast to present the report. After the presentation, the webcast will be opened up for questions from the audience.
Participants are strongly encouraged to submit their questions prior to the webcast on the registration page below or by sending questions to ir@zwipe.com. Participants will be required to register to view the webcast and participate in the Q&A.
Webcast details
Date: 3 February 2023
Time: 10:00 CET
Format: Webcast and Q&A
Language: English
Link: https://app.webinar.net/jQ7xPJLdgnw
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
ir@zwipe.com
HYDERABAD, INDIA and OSLO, NORWAY – 15 December 2022 – KL Hi-Tech, a leading provider of secure print products and solutions in India, has obtained the Letter of Approval (LoA) from VISA for its biometric payment card built on the Zwipe Pay platform.
With this Letter of Approval (LoA), consumers can use biometric payment cards from KL Hi-Tech built on the Zwipe Pay technology working seamlessly across Visa’s global payment network. This will address the increasing market demand for more security and convenience through biometric payment authentication.
On this development, Kartik Shekar, Vice President at KL Hi-Tech said, “We are extremely proud and pleased to receive the Visa LoA allowing the issuance and deployment of our biometric cards globally. This LoA comes at a point in time where we are seeing strong interest from issuers in our core markets to launch biometric payment cards based on the Zwipe Pay platform. This is an important milestone in our journey towards developing biometric solutions for the Fintech & Banking industry in the region and enabling a more secure and seamless user experience. Given India’s appetite for the next generation of payments, and the mass adoption of digital payments, biometric cards will only supplement the country’s vision to bring technology and finance together for years to come.”
Zwipe obtained its VISA Letter of Approval (LoA) for the Zwipe Pay platform on 24 March 2022, enabling smart card manufacturers working with Zwipe to swiftly obtain VISA certification for their own biometric payment card designs.
“We are pleased to see that KL Hi-Tech has now received the Visa LoA for their biometric cards based on the Zwipe Pay platform. Achieving this key milestone has a very positive impact on the commercial rollout of Zwipe Pay enabled biometric payment cards in the region. On behalf of everyone at Zwipe, I congratulate the team at KL Hi-Tech on this achievement,” said Robert Puskaric, CEO of Zwipe.
About KL HI-TECH
KL HI-TECH is one of India's largest banking card manufacturers with an annual production capacity of over 30 million banking cards. In 2021 it was ranked as the 2nd largest banking card manufacturer in India as per the latest Nilson Report. It is a trusted partner to Central and State Governments, Banks and Financial Institutions, Telecom Companies, Universities and Colleges, Central and State Election Commissions, and Transport Utilities, it provides fool proof and secure Smartcard and security printing solutions.
For more information, contact info@klhitech.com
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 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
OSLO, NORWAY – 2 DECEMBER 2022 - Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published by Zwipe AS (the "Company" or "Zwipe") on 22 November 2022 and the notice dated 23 November 2023 of an extraordinary general meeting in the Company to be held on 2 December 2022 (the "EGM"), both regarding a contemplated fully guaranteed rights issue in the Company, raising gross proceeds of approximately NOK 100 million (the "Rights Issue”).
The EGM has today approved the Rights Issue. The minutes from the EGM have been attached to this notice and have also been made available on the Company's website, https://zwipe.com/investors.
Correction of the stock exchange announcement regarding the Rights Issue published by the Company on 22 November 2022:
Pursuant to the EGM's resolution and in accordance with the Oslo Stock Exchange's procedural rules for trading in subscription rights, the subscription rights in the Rights Issue will be tradable from commencement of the subscription period and until 16:30 CET four (4) trading days prior to the end of the subscription period, i.e. on 14 March 2023 (and not on 15 March 2023 as announced in the stock exchange announcement regarding the Rights Issue published by the Company on 22 November 2022), subject to the prospectus for the Rights Issue being approved in time for the subscription period to start on 6 March 2023.
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
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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 (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 13:10 CET on 2 December 2022.
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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 23 NOVEMBER 2022 - Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published by Zwipe AS (the "Company" or "Zwipe") on 22 November 2022, regarding a contemplated fully guaranteed rights issue in the Company, raising gross proceeds of approximately NOK 100 million (the "Rights Issue”). In relation thereto, the Board of Directors of Zwipe (the "Board") calls for an Extraordinary General Meeting (the "EGM") to be held on 2 December 2022 at 10:00 CET. The general meeting will be held as a virtual meeting on Microsoft Teams.
Please find attached the notice to the EGM. The notice is also available on the Company's website, https://zwipe.com/investors.
The deadline for registration of attendance and proxies is 1 December 2022 at 16:00 hours CET. Shareholders are encouraged to register their notice of attendance and proxies via the link found here: https://zwipe.com/investors/general-meetings
Alternatively, the attached notice of attendance and proxy forms may be sent by e-mail to genf@dnb.no, or by regular post to DNB Bank ASA, Registrar's Department, P.O.Box 1600 Sentrum, 0021 Oslo, Norway.
In order to receive the link to the Microsoft Teams meeting, Zwipe's administration will need to have the shareholder's or proxy holder's e-mail address in advance. Thus, shareholders must after having registered their attendance also register their or its proxy's e-mail address by sending an email to ir@zwipe.com.
The Board has proposed the following agenda:
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
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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 (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 15:00 CET on 23 November 2022.
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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
ir@zwipe.com
NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO RUSSIA, BELARUS, AUSTRALIA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, SWITZERLAND, SINGAPORE, SOUTH AFRICA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH ACTION IS IN WHOLE OR IN PART WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO ACQUIRE SECURITIES IN ZWIPE AS. SEE THE "IMPORTANT INFORMATION" SECTION BELOW.
*** The below text clarifies that the subscription period and planned trading in subscription rights will be in March 2023 and not March 2022.
OSLO NORWAY – 22 NOVEMBER 2022 - The Board of Directors of Zwipe AS (the "Company" or "Zwipe") has today resolved to propose a preferential rights issue of 20,862,047 new shares (the "Offer Shares"), for a subscription price of NOK 4.80 per Offer Share, raising gross proceeds of approximately NOK 100 million with preferential rights for existing shareholders (the "Rights Issue"). The Rights Issue is fully guaranteed through a combination of subscription commitments and underwriting commitments. The Rights Issue requires the approval by the extraordinary general meeting of the Company expected to be held on 2 December 2022 (the "EGM") to be implemented. The notice of the extraordinary general meeting will be published in a separate press release.
Background and reason for the Rights Issue
Zwipe is a Norwegian biometric technology company established in 2009, focused on developing and commercializing secure, fast, and easy-to-use biometric authentication solutions with broad applications across key verticals such as payments and access control. Since 2019, card manufacturers have started the process of launching biometric payment card specific manufacturing lines, semiconductor providers have begun the development of dedicated offerings for this market, and the entire value chain supporting these processes has started moving more consistently. At the same time, Zwipe has made significant progress and added numerous smart card manufacturing customers across the world, significantly broadening their customer base. In addition, Zwipe has entered multiple important partnerships to enhance their go-to-market strategy and accelerate the adoption of biometric payment cards. Pilots have started and give the Company insights in its progress towards commercial adoption of its offerings.
In 2022, Zwipe has achieved a number of important milestones. The Company received its single largest commercial order for Zwipe Pay in a single quarter totalling $225,000. The Zwipe Pay Biometric Payment Card Platform received certification from both Visa and Mastercard, and the Fraport biometric access control project at Frankfurt Airport was successfully completed. Catering to the strong demand for access control solutions in the market, Zwipe is now engaging with a number of system integrators and distributors to accelerate the deployment of biometric access cards in key verticals and markets.
The Rights Issue is carried out in order to strengthen the Company’s financial position and enable the transition from start-up to scale-up.
Robert Puskaric, CEO of Zwipe comments:
“I am extremely pleased by the continued confidence demonstrated by our largest existing shareholders. Zwipe is experiencing significant positive commercial momentum and the proceeds from this fully secured rights issue will enable us to build upon our already strong position within biometric payments and biometric access control. The proceeds will be used to continue ramping up to meet growing global market demand for biometric security.”
Key terms of the Rights Issue
Underwriting obligations and guarantee commitments
The Rights Issue is fully guaranteed through a combination of subscription- and underwriting commitments. The subscription commitments are entered into with the Company’s largest shareholders, including Chairman of the Board Jörgen Lantto, and amount to approximately NOK 34.5 million, corresponding to approximately 34.5 percent of the Rights Issue. The underwriting commitments amount to approximately NOK 65.6 million, corresponding to approximately 65.5 percent of the Rights Issue. The underwriting commitments are entered into with three of the Company’s largest owners, Vasastaden Holding AB, Erik Selin Fastigheter AB and Arcanum Eiendom AS (controlled by Lars Windfeldt) pursuant to underwriting agreements entered into with each of them on 22 November 2022. The commitments and underwriting commitments are not secured by bank guarantee, escrow funds, pledging or similar arrangements. Pursuant to, and subject to, the terms and conditions set out in the underwriting agreements and the subscription commitments, the underwriters and pre-committing subscribing shareholders have undertaken to vote their shares held at the time of the EGM in favour of the Rights Issue and all underwriters have undertaken to guarantee on a several basis (not jointly) to subscribe for the Offer Shares, for a total underwritten amount of NOK 100,137,825.6 million, less any subscriptions covered by the subscription commitments. The Offer Shares which are not subscribed upon expiration of the subscription period (if any), will thus be subscribed by and allocated to the underwriters.
Other information pertaining to the Rights Issue
In connection with the Right Issue, a prospectus will be prepared, which is subject to the approval by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority and which will be passported to Sweden. The prospectus will be published prior to the commencement of the subscription period and will form the basis for subscriptions in the Right Issue. Provided that the prospectus is approved by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority and passported to Sweden in time, the subscription period for the Rights Issue will commence on 6 March 2023 and expire 20 March 2023 at 16:30 hours (CET). In the event that the prospectus is not approved in time to uphold this subscription period, the subscription period will commence on the second trading day on the Oslo Stock Exchange following the approval of the prospectus and expire at 16:30 hours (CET) two weeks thereafter.
The shareholders of the Company on 27 February 2023 (and being registered as such in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository, Euronext Securities Oslo, (the "VPS") as at the expiry of 1 March 2023 (the "record date")) will be granted one (1) preferential subscription right for each share registered as held by the shareholder as of the record date. Nine (9) preferential rights will give the right to subscribe for and be allocated five (5) Offer Shares in the Rights Issue (i.e. the holding of less than nine (9) preferential rights will not give the right to subscribe for any Offer Shares in the Rights Issue). Provided that a purchase of shares is made with ordinary T+2 settlement, shares purchased up to and including 27 February 2023 will give the right to receive subscription rights, whereas shares purchased from and including 28 February 2023 will not give the right to receive subscription rights. The subscription rights are expected to be tradable and listed on Euronext Growth Oslo and Nasdaq First North from and including the first day of the subscription period and until 16:30 (Oslo time) four trading days prior to the expiry of the subscription period. Over-subscription and subscription without subscription rights will be permitted.
A further description of the Rights Issue and of other circumstances that must be considered upon subscription of shares in the Rights Issue will be included in the prospectus for the Rights Issue, which will be published no later than the first trading of the subscription period and that will constitute the subscription material for the Rights Issue.
Indicative timeline for the Rights Issue
Change in share capital and number of shares and dilution
Upon completion of the Rights Issue, the share capital in the Company will be increased by NOK 2,086,204.7, from NOK 3,755,168.50 to NOK 5,841,373.20, through the issuance of 20,862,047 new shares. The number of shares thus increases from 37,551,685 to 58,413,732 shares. For existing shareholders who do not participate in the Rights Issue, this means, in the case of full subscription, a dilution effect of 35.7 percent of capital and votes in the Company.
Advisor
Zwipe has engaged Erik Penser Bank AB and Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS as financial and legal advisors respectively in connection with the Rights Issue.
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For further information contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR, Zwipe
E-mail: ir@zwipe.com
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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in the Market Abuse Regulation (EU 596/2014) and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12, and is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 19:30 on 22 November 2022.
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
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Important information
The information in this press release neither contains nor constitutes an offer to acquire, subscribe or otherwise trade in shares, warrants or other securities in Zwipe. No action has been taken and no action will be taken to permit an offer to the public in any jurisdictions other than Norway and Sweden. The invitation to interested persons to subscribe for shares in Zwipe will only take place through the prospectus that Zwipe expects to be able to publish around 3 March 2023. This announcement is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation. Investors should not subscribe for any securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information contained in the aforementioned prospectus.
The information contained in this press release may not be disclosed, published or distributed, directly or indirectly, within or to the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, Russia, Belarus or any other jurisdiction where such action would be illegal, subject to legal restrictions or require measures other than those that follow from Norwegian and Swedish law. Actions contrary to this instruction may constitute a violation of applicable securities legislation. No shares or other securities of Zwipe have been registered, and no shares or other securities will be registered, under the United States Securities Act of 1933 from time to time ("Securities Act") or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, in or to the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and pursuant to the securities laws of the relevant state or other jurisdiction in the United States. This communication is distributed to and directed solely to persons in the United Kingdom who are (i) professional investors falling within the scope of Article 19(5) of the U.K. from time to time in force; Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 ("the Order") or (ii) high net worth subjects and other persons to whom this notice may lawfully be addressed, who are subject to Article 49(2)(a)-(d) ) in the Order (all such persons are collectively referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Persons who are not Relevant Persons may not act on or rely on the information in this communication. An investment or investment measure referred to in this communication is only possible for Relevant Persons and will only be completed with Relevant Persons. Persons who disseminate this communication must themselves ensure that such dissemination is permitted.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that refer to the Company's intentions, assessments or expectations regarding the Company's future results, financial position, liquidity, development, prospects, expected growth, strategies and opportunities as well as the markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not relate to historical facts and can be identified by the inclusion of expressions such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "will", "may", "assumes", "should" "could" and, in each case, negations thereof, or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on various assumptions, which in several cases are based on additional assumptions. Although the Company believes that the assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will occur or that they are accurate. As these assumptions are based on assumptions or estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, the actual result or outcome may, for many different reasons, differ materially from what appears in the forward-looking statements.
Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other material factors may cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this press release through the forward-looking statements. The Company does not warrant that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this press release are correct and any reader of the press release should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements expressed or implied herein are provided only as of the date of this press release and are subject to change. Neither the Company nor anyone else undertakes to revise, update, confirm or publicly announce any revision of any forward-looking statement to reflect events occurring or circumstances occurring with respect to the contents of this press release, except as required by law or Nasdaq First North Growth Markets' regulations for issuers.
OSLO NORWAY – 22 NOVEMBER 2022 - Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published by Zwipe AS (the "Company") earlier today, 22 November 2022, regarding a contemplated fully underwritten rights issue in the Company, raising gross proceeds of approximately NOK 100 million (the “Rights Issue”). Key information relating to the Rights Issue is set out below.
Date on which the terms and conditions of the preferential rights issue were announced: 22 November 2022
Last day including right: 27 February 2023
Ex-date: 28 February 2023
Record Date: 1 March 2023
Date of approval: 2 December 2022
Number of new shares: 20,862,047
Subscription price: NOK 4.80
Ratio subscription rights: Each existing shareholder as of 27 March 2023 (and being registered as such in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository, Euronext Securities Oslo, (the VPS) as at the expiry of 1 March 2023 (the record date)) will be granted one (1) subscription right for each share registered as held by the shareholder on the record date.
Subscription ratio: Nine (9) subscription rights will give the holder the right to subscribe for five (5) new shares (i.e. the holding of less than 9 subscription rights will not give the holder the right to subscribe for any new shares).
Manager: Erik Penser Bank AB
Will the rights be listed – yes/no: Yes, the Company will apply for listing of the subscription rights on Euronext Growth Oslo and Nasdaq First North.
ISIN for the preferential rights: To be announced when available
Other information: The rights issue is fully guaranteed through a combination of subscription commitments and underwriting commitments. The rights issue is subject to the approval by the extraordinary general meeting of the Company, which will be held on 2 December 2022 (the "EGM"). Any changes in the dates included in this release will be communicated to the market by the Company.
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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 http://www.zwipe.com.
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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
ir@zwipe.com
