OSLO, NORWAY – 15 December 2021 – One of the largest global providers of payment services has signed an agreement to work with Zwipe to evaluate the opportunity of bringing Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards to issuers in North America and beyond.
In June 2021, Zwipe and IDEX Biometrics studied the payment habits, concerns on COVID-19 and desire for safer and more secure payments of over 1,000 consumers across the US and Canada. The study showed a strong demand for biometric payment cards in the US with 77% (81% in Canada) of the respondents wanting their next payment card to be biometric. In addition, 61% in the US (63% in Canada) said that they would be willing to pay a monthly fee to obtain such a card. Both organizations believe that the timing is right for this product and will be working together over the coming months to present the biometric payment card proposition to select customers with the aim of securing pilots and subsequent commercial launches.
“We are delighted to be entering this agreement with one of the largest and most respected payment service providers in the world. This agreement will provide the opportunity to accelerate the adoption of next generation biometric payment cards in some of the largest credit card markets in the world. We look forward to a mutually rewarding partnership,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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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, 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 17:30 CET on 15 December 2021.
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, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and CAIRO, EGYPT – 15 December 2021 - Zwipe and Masria Digital Payments are pleased to announce the first biometric payment card pilot with an Egyptian bank. This will be the first pilot in Africa to deploy the next generation biometric cards from Zwipe. The largest smart card manufacturer in Egypt, Masria Digital Payments (MDP), will supply Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric cards and play a key role in bringing the next payment experience to the Egyptian market and other African countries.
The biometric payment cards, built on the unique single silicon platform Zwipe Pay ONE, deliver world-class security and a completely touch-less user experience, leading to improved customer loyalty and a strong business case for banks. Across many markets globally and especially the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Zwipe has experienced a strong and growing demand in biometric payment cards from banks and payment service providers.
Speaking on this development, Vice President of MDP, Ahmed Nafei, said: “We are proud to be piloting next generation contactless cards in Egypt for the first time. Seeing a strong interest from our bank clients, we are confident that this first pilot in Egypt, which is with a medium sized bank, is one of many to come. MDP has always been at the forefront of bringing payment innovations to banks. During the pandemic, we have seen growing demand for touch-less checkout as it is safer and much more hygienic which is exactly what this innovation brings. Zwipe is a global leader in biometric payment technologies, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them. We aim for a pilot in early 2022, followed by a commercial launch.”
Chief Commercial Office at Zwipe, John Goodale said: “We are honored that the Zwipe Pay ONE platform has been selected to deliver pilots and commercial launches in Egypt. Zwipe and MDP have worked very closely over the past few months to bring both the product and overall commercial proposition to the Egyptian market, and we are delighted that banks have responded so positively. We look forward to launching this exciting new product with the bank and supporting it all the way through the pilot and into the commercial launch.”
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About Masria Digital Payments (MDP)
Masria Digital Payments (previously Masria Card S.A.E) is Africa's leading smart card solutions provider with a regional presence spanning 35 countries and 3 continents. Building on its vast sector experience, MDP has consistently introduced the latest technology in cards, payment security and smart applications to the Middle East and African markets. MDP also provides its partners with a complete card offering ranging from card production, personalization, issuance and fulfilment as a service or as a solution. MDP is the only end to end fully certified African payments solutions provider to offer a full card services, solutions, processing and digital payment suites to clients in the financial, government and retail sector under one roof.
For more information, please visit MDP | Home (mdp-eg.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 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, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 29 November 2021 – GEPCOM, one of oldest and most respected card production and printing facilities in the Arab world, has selected the Zwipe Pay ONE platform to deliver biometric payment cards to its clients in Saudi Arabia and key international markets. Zwipe is a FinTech that has pioneered the development of biometric payment cards and delivered many successful pilots globally.
Gulf Printing Products Manufacturers’ Factory (GEPCOM), founded in 1989, was the first to bring plastic card manufacturing technology to the Arab world. This announcement demonstrates that they are continuing the path of innovation today. Leveraging their investment in the latest manufacturing equipment, and with full VISA and Mastercard certification, they are able to create a range of high-quality products to serve the financial services industry.
GEPCOM engaged with Zwipe earlier in 2021 and, after extensive evaluation of available alternatives, selected Zwipe Pay ONE as the preferred biometric card platform for its next generation payment cards. They were especially interested in Zwipe’s end to end products and services including Zwipe’s range of enrolment options providing GEPCOM with an opportunity to create even further value for their clients.
According to Abdullah Ahmed Abed, Deputy General Manager & Regional Director, GEPCOM, “GEPCOM has been manufacturing card products for all sectors in the Middle-East and is recognized in the market for its unmatched service, transparency and quality. With the impact of the pandemic still being felt across Saudi and the world, consumers’ focus on safety and hygiene has increased significantly.”
As part of this agreement, Zwipe will provide biometric technology and technical services to enable GEPCOM to manufacture Zwipe Pay ONE test cards from Q1 2022. The partners are already jointly engaging with issuers in Saudi with the aim of launching pilots from Q2 2022 to be followed by full commercial roll outs.
“In collaboration with Zwipe, we will deliver payment cards that will enable payments to be completely touch-less through a PIN-free checkout experience for consumers with much higher security. Our assessment shows that Zwipe Pay ONE represents the most advanced and high-performing solution and will be the first mass-market viable platform”, said Yousef Ahmed Abed, General Manager, GEPCOM.
Commenting on this partnership, Ramzi Saboury, General Manager MENA region at Zwipe, said: “We are very pleased to announce our partnership with GEPCOM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the most important markets in the MENA region. We are seeing a strong appetite globally as well as in the Middle East for this new technology from issuers, processors and cardholders. I am confident that this partnership will accelerate deployment of biometric cards in Saudi. Zwipe will be supporting GEPCOM’s clients during their launch processes to ensure the best customer experience and successful commercialization”.
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About GEPCOM
Gulf Printing Products Manufacturers’ Factory (GEPCOM) was founded by Mr. Ahmad Taleb Abed. For over 26 years, GEPCOM has been manufacturing printing products for all sectors in the Middle-East and the Arab world, leading by example since its establishment in 1989.GEPCOM was the first to bring plastic card manufacturing technology to the Arab world and continues on a path of innovation today, with only the most advanced machines and equipment for the fabrication of excellent products including cards, envelopes, security forms, adhesive label rolls, thermal rolls and more. We provide customers worldwide with unmatched service and transparency and believe in uncompromised quality when it comes to all our products. GEPCOM is proudly certified by VISA and MasterCard, in addition to its ISO certification for product quality assurance.
GEPCOM’s vision is to become the benchmark of outstanding service across all industries. We take pride in providing exceptional results in everything that we set out to do, and work unswervingly to ensure the success of our business.
For further information please contact info@gepcom.com.sa
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 biometric payment card and wearables technology, and biometric technology for physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135, info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY; AUSTIN and CONCORDVILLE, USA; LIMOGES, FRANCE – 25 November 2021 - Zwipe, a Norway-based biometric fintech, is proud to announce the launch of a two-factor authentication solution for access control based on its biometric authentication technology platform. The global access control market is valued at USD 7.65 billion and is expected to reach USD 11.7 billion by 2026 (1).
Entering the access control market, Zwipe announces collaborations with several well-known companies in the security industry; notably HID Global, an ASSA ABLOY Group brand and a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, LeGrand, the global specialist in high-value-added products and solutions for commercial, residential, and industrial buildings, and Southco, the leading global designer and manufacturer of engineered access solutions. The coalition will bring a highly advanced, cost-effective, biometric authentication solution to market. The full capability of Zwipe's biometric card operates with existing access control systems thereby removing the need to make any time-consuming and costly adjustments to existing access control infrastructure.
The complete solution will be demonstrated for the first time at TRUSTECH in Paris, on Zwipe’s booth, from 30 November 2021.
Commenting on this breakthrough, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said “Thanks to Zwipe’s advanced biometric authentication technology platform, Zwipe is ready to move into adjacent markets, starting with Access Control. We see a real need for much stronger access control solutions and are confident that our biometric card solution will address many security concerns in this space. We are particularly proud to partner with such distinguished companies and we look forward to adding significant value to this sector with our solution. I am convinced Access Control and ID will be a significant business line for Zwipe going forward, adding to our profitable growth and long-term value creation.”
The customer project has started with Raritan (the data center expert company with worldwide references and a subsidiary of LeGrand), focusing on the joint development of a highly secure solution based on Zwipe’s biometric card technology that delivers a new level of secure access for data center cabinets.
Raritan’s CTO, Swen Anderson, commented “It was crucial that we developed a product that allowed us to deploy the latest in biometric technology without having to make any infrastructure changes. Zwipe has provided us with the opportunity to leverage their leading technology platform to create a new product that delivers a level of security for data center access control that is unique within our industry.”
“Thanks to this excellent cooperation based on real use cases, the full integrity of our biometric card solution has been successfully demonstrated for new areas of application. Our biometric authentication technology platform provides world-class security and we are excited that it can be integrated seamlessly with physical and logical access control solutions. We believe innovations like biometric access control and ID management will be highly sought after,” says Christian Vaas, Zwipe’s Vice President ID-Solutions & Access Control.
(1): Global Access Control Market | 2021 - 26 | Industry Share, Size, Growth - Mordor Intelligence
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
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About HID Global
HID Global powers the trusted identities of the world’s people, places and things. We make it possible for people to transact safely, work productively and travel freely. Our trusted identity solutions give people convenient access to physical and digital places and connect things that can be identified, verified and tracked digitally. Millions of people around the world use HID products and services to navigate their everyday lives, and billions of things are connected through HID technology. We work with governments, educational institutions, hospitals, financial institutions, industrial businesses and some of the most innovative companies on the planet.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, HID Global has over 4,000 employees worldwide and operates international offices that support more than 100 countries. HID Global is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. For more information, visit www.hidglobal.com.
About Legrand
Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving life by transforming the spaces where people live, work and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and sustainable growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings—including Eliot* connected products with enhanced value in use. Legrand reported sales of €6.1 billion in 2020. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 and CAC 40 ESG indexes. (code ISIN FR0010307819) www.legrandgroup.com
About Southco
Southco, Inc. is the leading global designer and manufacturer of engineered access solutions. For over 70 years, Southco has helped the world’s most recognized brands create value for their customers with unrivalled engineering resources and innovative products. Southco’s data center solutions provide access control and monitoring at the rack level, providing a complete, comprehensive security system to control, monitor and track equipment that stores sensitive data.
To learn more, visit www.southco.com and www.southco.com for our Data Center mini-site.
For further information, please contact: Natalie Brannelly nbrannelly@southco.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 biometric payment card and wearables technology, and biometric technology for 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
OSLO, NORWAY, 25 November 2021 - Zwipe launches a range of enrolment solutions to complement their next-generation biometric payment card platform, Zwipe Pay ONE. Seamless customer onboarding remains one of the most important components in enabling the transition to the safer and more secure payment experience provided by biometric payment cards.
The Zwipe R&D team has created some exclusive inventions to overcome several challenges that many in the industry had considered insurmountable. For the first time, it is now a realistic proposition to have consumers enroll their card at home using just a mobile phone and a set of simple instructions.
Zwipe has created a range of innovative enrolment solutions that meet the evolving demands of the financial services industry and consumers. With a focus on providing simple to use, cost-effective and low environmental impact products, Zwipe will deliver multiple different types of solutions that include not only passive and customizable enrolment devices, such as sleeves, highly integrated card fulfilment packaging, and branch-based enrolment solutions, but also self-service mobile phone APIs that can easily be integrated into issuer apps. Issuers can choose the solutions that best suit their needs and use cases of their products and cardholder segments. For example, while mobile app-based enrolment would be attractive for the majority of consumers, in-branch supervised enrolment may better suit financial inclusion programs.
All these solutions will be made available to Zwipe Pay ONE customers in 2022.
“Zwipe has undertaken extensive research on enrolment, and after very clear customer feedback and interest, we decided to invest heavily in this area. Issuers repeatedly told us that enrolment is one of the most important parts of the user experience for biometric payment cards and we are delighted to have made several breakthroughs that we believe will transform the way in which consumers enrol their cards whilst even further strengthening the value proposition for issuers. These developments underscore Zwipe’s ambition to be a leading innovator in the industry, putting user experience in front”, commented André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
The enrolment solutions will be demonstrated at TRUSTECH in Paris, on Zwipe’s booth, from 30 November 2021.
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135, info@zwipe.com
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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 & cultures to make convenience safe & secure. We are pioneering biometric payment card and wearables technology, and biometric technology for 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
OSLO, NORWAY and CASABLANCA, MOROCCO – 22 November 2021 – Biometric fintech company, Zwipe and NetPS, part of dzcard Group and one of the main Moroccan Smart Card Personalization Bureaus, are partnering to bring Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards to banks across Africa and the Middle East.
As part of this collaboration, both companies will work closely to promote the innovative Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards for NetPS’ issuers in Africa and the Middle East.
NetPS has a portfolio of more than 30 clients based in 15 countries across Africa. The company, which is based in Morocco, provides its first-class card personalization services to major financial institutions in the region, such as Banque Central Populaire (BCP), Société Générale, Credit Agricole du Maroc, Attijariwafa Bank, Al Barid Bank, CIH, and major Telecom operators including Maroc Telecom (part of Etisalat Group).
“As a leading provider of payment cards across Africa, we believe adding Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards to our portfolio creates a compelling and differentiating product to our clients. We are looking forward to working with the Zwipe team on developing some very innovative and exciting card designs, fulfillment solutions and enrolment options. We believe this new product will drive new business and significantly uplift customer loyalty for our clients.”, said Younes Lahlou, CEO of NetPS.
Speaking on the new partnership, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said: “We are really pleased with the response across the Middle East and North Africa for Zwipe Pay ONE and are delighted to partner with NetPS in extending our reach to Morocco and beyond. With this partnership with NetPS, our dzcard Group relationship is strengthened further, giving us the opportunity to deliver next generation payment cards to the many banks looking for a more safe and secure payment card in the region. NetPS has a very strong reputation for customer service and excellence in their market and are an ideal partner for Zwipe”.
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About NetPS, part of dzcard Group
Founded in 2000, NetPS, a subsidiary of the dzcard Group, is one of the leading players in the field of smart card personalization in Morocco. The company has been certified by Visa and Mastercard since 2000. The company is a trusted partner among its Moroccan banking and telco clients supporting their African expansion with world class solutions and service.
To learn more, visit the NetPS webpage: www.NetPS.com
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information, please contact Mr. André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and BEIRUT, LEBANON – 17 November 2021 – Zwipe is partnering with areeba to pilot Biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay ONE in Lebanon and Iraq. These pilots reflect a strong and growing demand from issuers and processors across the region for next-generation contactless payment cards.
areeba is a leading financial technology company in the MENA region and is licensed as both issuer and acquirer by the international card schemes. It is one of the main issuing & acquiring processors in the region and leads in the Lebanese market with more than 50% market share. areeba was chosen as one of the top leading payments innovators in 2021 by Global Business Leaders.
areeba and Zwipe have a long-standing collaboration, launching the first biometric payment card pilots in the Middle East in 2018 and winning the 2019 Seamless Award for Best Technological Innovation in Payments.
Speaking on this development, Maher Mikati, Chief Executive Officer at areeba said, “We have always been pioneers in embracing new technologies that enhance user experience and security for end consumers, uplifting loyalty and business cases of payment portfolio. We are proud to partner with Zwipe, a highly respected innovator with whom we have had the pleasure to collaborate since 2018, witnessing the evolution of biometric payment cards. We are looking forward to delivering the pilots in H1 2022 followed by commercial launches.”
In these pilots, the biometric payment cards will be built on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform and delivered by Inkript, one of the leading EMV Card Manufacturers in the Middle East, which already provides cards to areeba and many issuers in the region.
Ramzi Saboury, General Manager of Zwipe in the MENA Region said: “We are proud of our partnership with areeba, a leading innovator in the region, and look forward to supporting them and Inkript in bringing biometric payment cards to two markets, Lebanon and Iraq. Zwipe will also support areeba through all stages of pilots, ensuring that end users’ experiences and feedback are systematically captured and assessed. This is going to be an exciting journey together.”
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About areeba
areeba is an electronic payment technology company licensed by Visa and MasterCard and has an agreement with American Express & Discover. Established in 2017, areeba adopts the latest technologies and provides solutions and payment services to banks, governments and merchants to suit their aspirations and needs.
areeba offers services tailored to global requirements, from card issuance and management, non-contact payment solutions, contactless and mobile payment. It also provides merchants and governments with the latest e-commerce platform and point-of-sale machines that adopt the highest standards and safety systems. areeba operates a wide range of loyalty programs, including collecting points and miles, cashback programs, and providing consultancy services for the planning, design and development of electronic products and payment solutions.
For more information, visit www.areeba.com, or @areebalebanon on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. areeba media contact: Nouchka El Hage, +961-1-954325 - NHage@areeba.com
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free.
To learn more, visit zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 9 November 2021 – The primary insider Diderik Schonheyder, a board member of Zwipe, has today acquired a total of 13,434 shares at an average price of SEK 29.90. Diderik Schonheyder’s shareholding after the transaction is 25,302 shares.
Attached is a copy of the form submitted to the Norwegian FSA, Finanstilsynet, reporting the transaction as listed above:
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act § 5-12.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards 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
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OSLO, NORWAY – 3 November 2021 - Zwipe’s technology partner, Idemia, has announced that it has obtained full certification from both VISA and Mastercard for its F.CODE biometric payment card.
These certifications (Letters of Approval) represent full validation of the core components in our disruptive technology platform, Zwipe Pay ONE, notably the shared single silicon biometric secure element, where Idemia and Zwipe have co-invested since Q4 2019, and the IDX3405 fingerprint sensor from Idex Biometrics.
This paves the way for subsequent successful certification of Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards for Zwipe’s customers, as Zwipe is working towards completion of its Zwipe Pay ONE platform. Zwipe Pay ONE includes Zwipe’s ISO Module integrating the now fully certified single silicon biometric secure element, as well as Zwipe’s passive inlay. Zwipe’s customers can also purchase the fully validated Idex Biometrics fingerprint sensor, IDX3405, from Zwipe. The timing for certification of Zwipe’s card manufacturing customers will be subject to the planning and execution of the certification by each customer.
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For further information, please contact:
André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135
info@zwipe.com
Dear Customers, Zwipers and Partners,
I am delighted to begin this new journey as the CEO of Zwipe. Since day one, I have felt thoroughly welcomed and enjoyed the energy, engagement and competencies that we have in the team.
I would like to start by saying a big thanks to all Zwipers for working tirelessly and to André Løvestam for having been such a strong ambassador of next generation biometric cards for many years.
More card manufacturers, payment processors, banks and enterprises than ever before are today committed to launch their next generation card programs with Zwipe. My sincere thanks to our customers and partners for their continued confidence in our platform. Throughout H1 2022, we continued to grow our customer and partner base at a strong pace.
· We signed with six new issuers, from Germany to India and the Middle East. All of them are now engaged with our card manufacturing partners and other players in the value chain to launch their new cards.
· In the APAC region, we strengthened our market position significantly with Placard (largest card manufacturer in Australia and New Zealand), Modularsoft (Malaysia’s largest payment card personalization bureau) and Wisecard (one of APAC region’s largest EMV Software providers). All these leading brands selected Zwipe Pay platform in launching their next generation payment cards.
· On the technology side, our Zwipe Pay platform received the Letter of Approval (LoA) from Visa, which was followed by confirmations of Visa certification from our three lead customers (Tag Systems, BCC and Inkript). This list will only grow from here.
· Fraport, operating in 31 international airports (including Frankfurt, New York (JFK), New Jersey (EWR) and New Delhi) shortlisted the Zwipe Access platform for their new access card program. Pilot is now underway, and we are expecting a decision before the end of the year.
We also strengthened our organization by welcoming Patrice Meilland as Chief Strategy & Product Officer and Danielle Glenn as CFO & Head of IR. Patrice joins from his position as the SVP of Advanced Cards in Idemia. Danielle brings substantial financial markets experience from the likes of Goldman Sachs and her most recent role as the CFO of Arctic Bioscience. With a strong focus on ensuring deliveries and successfull launches, we have also strengthened our engineering teams.
Throughout H1 2022,we continued to investigate consumers’ payment preferences and their feedback on biometric payment cards. From Austria to Australia, Italy to Taiwan, Malaysia to The Netherlands and Germany, consumers’ interest in biometric payment cards remained consistent and very strong. This is encouraging, not just for Zwipe but for all our customers, partners and industry peers who just like Zwipe are on a mission to deliver the next generation payment and access control experience worldwide.
I now look forward leading Zwipe and together as a team delivering measurable value to our customers, partners and shareholders.
Wishing you all a happy and safe summer!
Robert Puskaric
President and CEO of Zwipe
OSLO, NORWAY - 16 June 2022 - The Board of Directors of Zwipe AS ("Zwipe" or the "Company”) has resolved to grant in total 660,000 share options to members of the management team under the Company's share incentive scheme. The option grant is in accordance with the mandate given at Zwipe’s Annual General Meeting on 23 May 2022 to the Board of Directors (“the Board”) to issue new options to the company's employees or Board members under the company's existing long-term incentive program (the “Program”). Each option gives the option holder the right to acquire one share in the Company at an exercise price of NOK 17.96, which is equal to the volume weighted average share price for the 10 last trading days through 10 June 2022 plus 10%. The exercise price was established in accordance with Program principles. The options will vest over a period of three years from grant with one-sixth vesting every six months until 31 December 2024. The options will expire on 1 July 2026.
The following primary insiders were granted options:
Until the AGM in 2023, the Board is authorized to issue up to 2,626,168 options, of which a total of 2,084,498 options have now been issued. Primary insider notifications pursuant to article 19 of the market abuse regulation are attached to this release.
OSLO, NORWAY – 13 June 2022 – Zwipe, a leading provider of biometric payment card solutions announces that Zwipe’s Board of Directors has appointed Robert Puskaric as President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing André Løvestam. The change is effective immediately.
Robert Puskaric has a long successful career mainly from the Ericsson group where positions held include President, Region Northern Europe and Central Asia, President, Ericsson Mobile Platforms, Senior Vice President, Business Unit Modems, and Executive Vice President, ST-Ericsson. He has also been President and CEO of Doro AB and President of Eniro AB. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management (Civilekonom) from Lund University, Sweden.
“We are excited to announce that Robert Puskaric joins Zwipe as our new President and CEO,” says Jörgen Lantto, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zwipe. “After several years of development of Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access, Zwipe’s main products for biometric payment and access cards, the company is now entering into a new phase of engaging with our customers to bring biometric cards to consumers for commercial launch. We are confident that Robert’s successful history of managing complex commercial relations will be a perfect fit as the company enters this phase,” continues Jörgen Lantto.
“I am very excited to join Zwipe,” says Robert Puskaric, new President and CEO of Zwipe. “I am very impressed of Zwipe’s achievements in establishing a strong competitive position on the back of a leading technology, and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues and the board, partners and customers, in bringing biometric cards to consumers for commercial launch” continues Robert Puskaric.
Robert Puskaric replaces outgoing President and CEO André Løvestam who will support the company during a transition period and then pursue other opportunities.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to André Løvestam for his efforts in leading Zwipe to its current position,” says Jörgen Lantto. “André has taken the company through a series of major changes during a critical time for the company. We wish André all the best in the future,” continues Jörgen Lantto.
OSLO, NORWAY and MUNICH, GERMANY - 13 June 2022 - Zwipe and Fidor Bank are excited to announce that they will be piloting the biometric payment cards in Germany during the second half of 2022. This will be powered by the Zwipe Pay technology platform.
Fidor Bank is a digital bank headquartered in Germany. Founded in 2009, the bank aims to provide a world-class user experience to its retail, corporate and institutional customers.
The launch of biometric cards is in line with Fidor’s strategy to provide its customers with access to digital banking and payment services in the most secure way possible. These cards are equipped with the latest security technologies and offer users a secure and seamless payment experience. Fidor Bank has been recognized in the last three consecutive years by Forbes Magazine as one of the world’s best banks and a leader in banking.
Across markets globally, Zwipe is experiencing strong and growing demand for its disruptive Zwipe Pay biometric payment card platform, delivering world-class security and a completely touch-less, PIN-free user experience.
Speaking on this development, Boris Joseph, CEO at Fidor Bank said, “We are delighted to take this big step with Zwipe, a well-known pioneer in biometric authentication and payment solutions. Next generation payment cards powered by on-card fingerprint authentication will greatly help to differentiate our payment offerings with respect to a seamless checkout experience and uplifted transaction security. We are aiming for a commercial launch in the second half of 2022”.
Besides providing Zwipe Pay as the core platform of the biometric payment card technology, Zwipe will support Fidor Bank with project support, help the bank to drive engagement and awareness on biometric payment cards while ensuring excellent payment experience for consumers.
André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said, “We are grateful for Fidor Bank’s confidence in joining forces with Zwipe to bring biometric payment cards to Germany, one of the largest payment markets in Europe. Fidor Bank’s position as a leading digital bank and Zwipe’s disruptive technology in biometric payments lay the foundation for a mutually rewarding collaboration. We are fully committed to ensure a successful pilot and market launch in Germany”.
About Fidor Bank
Fidor Bank AG is a German digital bank based in Munich and Berlin. A range of unique products and services characterizes Fidor’s offer. With the Fidor Smart current or business account, the bank targets private and business customers and offers them a combination of classic banking services and innovative products, such as cryptocurrency trading. Fidor’s unique value proposition has been awarded by acclaimed publications, including Handelsblatt, Forbes and Chip.
To learn more, visit www.fidor.de
For further information please contact: Sascha Grundmann, newskontor – Agentur für Kommunikation, +49 211 863949-21 sascha.grundmann@newskontor.de
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.
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 93 43 69 52 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and HONG KONG, CHINA – 9 June 2022 – Wisecard Technology and Zwipe are pleased to confirm their partnership to bring biometric payment cards to consumers in the Asia Pacific (APAC) Region. Wisecard is one of the world’s largest suppliers of turnkey personalization solutions serving more than 150 financial institutions and 50 card personalization bureaus in more than 60 countries worldwide. Zwipe is a leading innovator in the biometric smart card industry with market leading biometric payment card platform, Zwipe Pay.
Elaborating on the partnership, Kevin Yi, Vice President-Business Development at Wisecard said, “Wisecard has been at the forefront of payment technologies for over ten years. Partnering with Zwipe, a well-known leader in biometric card technology, enables us to offer revolutionary solutions to our customers, banks and card personalization bureaus. Wisecard recognizes the significant benefits that biometric payment cards bring to consumers and issuers alike. With the Zwipe Pay platform we now have the maturity and reliability to make it a reality”.
As part of this partnership agreement, the parties have agreed to execute joint sales and marketing initiatives, backed with a strong technology collaboration where Wisecard will deliver pre-built personalization scripts for Zwipe Pay biometric payment cards ensuring much faster and smoother implementation for banks and card personalization bureaus.
Claus Hansen, Vice President, Sales and Business Development for Zwipe in APAC said: “Partnering with Wisecard greatly strengthens the global delivery and implementation ecosystem of biometric payment cards built on our platform, across the APAC region and also beyond. Together we will bring next generation biometric payment cards to card personalization bureaus, smart card manufacturers, payment processors and issuers.”
About Wisecard:
Wisecard has been dedicated to building a safe and trusted digital world through the development of smart card technology and payment solutions. Wisecard is committed to becoming the world's leading provider of secure payment service solutions, adhering to the customers’ needs, and delivering easy plug-in and user-friendly solutions for banks and financial institutions. With the team of Wisecard, we are extending our service and solutions from software development and professional project management.
Visit www.wisecardtech.com/ for further information or contact us: info@wisecardtech.com
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 93 43 69 52 info@zwipe.com
BEIRUT, LEBANON and OSLO, NORWAY - 30 May 2022 - Inkript, a digital security solutions provider operating in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, and a subsidiary of Resource Group, 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 all over the world can use biometric payment cards from Inkript built on the Zwipe Pay technology working seamlessly across Visa’s global payment network. This will address the strong market demand for increased security and convenience through biometric authentication.
On this development, Riad Itani, Managing Director at Inkript said, “We are pleased to receive the Visa LoA allowing the issuance and deployment of our biometric cards anywhere in the world. This LoA also comes at a timely point with the strong interest from issuers in the MEA region to launch biometric payment cards based on the Zwipe Pay platform. Many banks have already signed with us, and we are ready to meet their expectations across the region. This is an important milestone in our journey towards developing biometric solutions for the Fintech industry in the region thus enabling a secure and seamless user experience.”
Zwipe obtained its VISA Letter of Approval (LoA) for its 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 Inkript, as the first card manufacturer in the MEA region, has now received the Visa LoA for their biometric cards based on the Zwipe Pay platform. Achieving this 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 Inkript on this achievement,” said Ramzi Saboury, General Manager of Zwipe for Middle East & Africa.
About Inkript
Inkript is a digital security solutions provider catering to governments, telecom operators, financial institutions and corporations in the Middle East and Africa. The company is a subsidiary of Resource Group, and its growth is driven by an extensive R&D and continuous investments in emerging technologies. Inkript is distinguished by its state-of-the-art factories, technology competence centers, customized integrated solutions and international certifications covering processes, quality and security.
Media Contact for Inkript: Ms. Nathalie Haddad, +9611412000 ext. 2935 nhaddad@resource.group
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries & cultures to make convenience safe & secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for both payment and physical & logical access control and ID solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 93 43 69 52 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY– 23 May 2022 – The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Zwipe AS was held Monday 23 May 2022 at 9:00 (CEST). All the items on the agenda were addressed and approved. Attached are the minutes of the Annual General Meeting. The attendants of the AGM represented 19.21% of the votes in the company.
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.
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on 23 May 2022 at 16:05 CEST.
For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn
CFO and Head of IR, Zwipe AS
Phone: +47 909 98 201
E-mail: danielle@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY - 28 April 2022 - Zwipe AS today publishes its first quarter operational update.
Q1 2022 Highlights
During the first quarter of 2022, Zwipe made significant progress towards the targeted commercial breakthrough for biometric cards for payment and access control:
Significant events after the period
Message from the CEO
Most importantly for Q1 2022, Visa certified the Zwipe Pay Biometric Payment Card Platform and issued the Letter of Approval to Zwipe. Zwipe Pay passed all tests required to obtain the Visa Letter of Approval. This is a major milestone which represents a seminal moment for the company, and the leadership is rightly proud of the achievement. With this, the Zwipe Pay biometric payment card platform is the most advanced and cost-effective certified solution available to smart card manufacturers globally. The LoA enables our customers to swiftly obtain VISA certification for their own biometric payment card designs for full-scale production and issuance in any global territory.
This was evidenced when two smart card manufacturers, Tag Systems and Beautiful Card Corporation (BCC), announced within a week of Zwipe's announcement that they had obtained Letters of Approval from VISA for their own biometric payment card solutions based on the Zwipe Pay platform. This means that the pathway is now open for smart card manufacturers and issuers all over the world to certify, produce and deploy biometric Visa cards based on Zwipe Pay for commercial launch to consumers. We are also progressing towards certification with Mastercard.
From January until mid-April 2022, a total of six new issuers across APAC, Africa and the Middle East signed up to pilot biometric payment cards based on Zwipe technology. These issuers are sKarn from India, Al Mansour Bank from Iraq, Mediterranean Bank from Libya, National Bank of Iraq, CSC Jordan and a leading bank in Kuwait. We also entered new partnerships with card personalization bureaus and service providers such as Modularsoft in Malaysia and K2sas / Card Systems Group in France and the Middle East.
We strengthened our effort in positioning Zwipe as a leading biometric company in the APAC region by announcing that Placard, Australia’s largest card manufacturer, selected Zwipe as its technology partner to pursue market opportunities for biometric payment cards and other security products. Placard delivers more than 100 million cards each year for the most established brands in the financial, retail, identification, government, loyalty and hospitality sectors and will help to accelerate the deployment of biometric payment cards to banks and consumers.
We were also delighted that US-based TSYS, one of the world's largest and most respected payment service providers, declared our partnership on their website, reflecting our announcement on 15 December 2021. TSYS, which is part of Global Payments Inc, a member of the S&P 500, produced approximately 100 million cards of all types in the United States in 2021. I recommend you read their excellent feature story about our partnership and why the two companies plan to produce an affordable, secure biometric payment card.
During 2022 we have seen a fast-growing interest in Zwipe Access, our new, batteryless biometric smart card solution for access control that offers fast and cost-efficient added security from biometrics without changing the infrastructure. Fraport AG recently launched a project to identify the optimal solution for performing a biometric comparison between the airport ID card and the person requesting access and selected Zwipe Access as one of two finalists in this prestigious innovation project. Fraport AG ranks among the world’s leading companies in the airport business, offering a full range of integrated airport management services with subsidiaries and investments around the globe. It operates 31 airports globally.
Against this background, I was also thrilled to see the successful integration of Zwipe Access on LEGIC’s end-to-end security platform. In LEGIC’s own words, Zwipe Access “…adds a revolutionary new layer of security to the huge installed base of LEGIC card-based access control systems worldwide. This innovation brings benefits that were formerly only available on smartphone solutions, while preserving existing infrastructure and drastically reducing time-to-market". The installed base of LEGIC systems comprises 100.000 installations with more than 3 million readers and 150.000 daily users.
Zwipe continues to attract top industry talent, as evidenced by the appointment of Danielle Glenn as CFO and Head of IR and Patrice Meilland as Chief Strategy and Product Officer. Ms. Glenn has spent most of her career in London and New York, working at Goldman Sachs, Caxton Associates and Bywater Capital as a global macro hedge fund manager and Chief Investment Officer, while Mr. Meilland has extensive business and technical experience in the semiconductor, mobile, and payment card industries including 7 years at Idemia and 26 years at ST Microelectronics and ST-Ericsson.
On top of obtaining our Visa certification, the addition of new customers, pilot agreements and partnerships with significant stakeholders worldwide, all contribute to the foundation for future mass-market deployment of our compelling and value-adding technology. These efforts will continue at full speed going forward. Meanwhile, we are supporting customers in getting ready for production and volume deliveries.
Whilst we deplore the Russian aggression on Ukraine, we can advise that Zwipe has no ongoing business in Russia or Ukraine and is not impacted by the war.
All in all, our long-term optimism has only been strengthened with another solid quarter. We firmly believe that millions of consumers everywhere will be using Zwipe enabled biometric payment and access cards in the years to come.
Financial Update
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 CET on 28 April 2022.
OSLO, NORWAY - 19 April 2022 - The share capital increase of 150,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 24 March 2022, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,751,668.50, and the new number of shares and votes is 37,516,685
About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Stockholm. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 11:30 CET on 19 April 2022.
