OSLO, NORWAY– 26 January 2021 – Reference is made to the notice made public by Zwipe AS (the "Company") on 7 January 2021 at 16:29 of an extraordinary general meeting in the Company scheduled to be held on 28 January 2021 at 10:00 CET. Due to the recent increase in the applicable Covid-19 restrictions, the Company has decided that the meeting will be held with only digital participation. No physical participation will be facilitated.
If you have registered your interest in accordance with the notice of the extraordinary meeting and want to participate, please send a request via e-mail to the Company to ir@zwipe.com by CET 16:00 on 27 January 2021 to receive an invitation.
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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 Market in Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in 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 below, on 26 January 2021 at 11:30 CEST.
Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 528 00 399
For more information contact: Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO, +47 991 66 135 ir@zwipe.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
OSLO, NORWAY – 07 January 2021 - The board of directors of Zwipe AS call for an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 28 January 2021 at 10:00 CET.
Please find enclosed the notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Following the capital increase in September and November, the nomination committee and the board of directors (the "Board") in Zwipe have assessed the need for changes to the nomination committee, so that the new nomination committee may assess the need for changes to the board of directors prior to the annual general meeting in 2021.
As part of its work on proposing new candidates for election to the nomination committee, the nomination committee, consisting of Paal Raaholt, Magnus Berner and Jörgen Lantto, has been in contact with several key persons related to Zwipe. The nomination committee has been in contact with shareholders, in particular the new major shareholder Vasastaden, as well as previous major shareholder (and now second largest shareholder) Lars Windfeldt. The nomination committee has also been in contact with the Board and the company's management, prior to presenting their proposal to the Board.
Resulting from these contacts, the nomination committee proposes that a new nomination committee is elected, consisting of Niclas Eriksson (Vasastaden), Lars Windfeldt and Jörgen Lantto.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of Zwipe, I welcome the fact that our new major shareholder Vasastaden, a renowned Swedish institutional investor, wishes to take an active role as member of Zwipe’s nomination committee through its Chairman, Niclas Eriksson. I also welcome that Lars Windfeldt, who has been a major shareholder for Zwipe since 2011, wishes to join the nomination committee as its Chairman. The fact that our two largest shareholders wish to invest their time and energy into supporting the company, besides their capital investments, is very encouraging” said Jörgen Lantto, chairman of the Board of Zwipe.
As a result of this, the Board decided to call for an Extraordinary General Meeting, and proposed the following agenda:
Opening of the general meeting by the chair of the Board. Registration of meeting shareholders
Election of a meeting chairperson and person to co-sign the minutes together with the chairperson
Approval of the notice and the agenda
Election of members to the nomination committee
Proposed decisions from the Board (extracts only, please see the attachments to the notice for the full proposals)
Matter no. 4: Election of members to the nomination committee
In accordance with the proposal from the nomination committee and the support from the board of directors, the Board propose the following new nomination committee is elected:
Niclas Eriksson
Lars Windfeldt
Jörgen Lantto
Further it is proposed that Lars Windfeldt is appointed as the chair of the nomination committee.
Notice of attendance, in person or by proxy, shall be given no later than 27 January 2021 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.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
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 16:30 CET on 7 January 2021.
Season's Greetings from André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe
OSLO, NORWAY - 23 DECEMBER 2020 - Zwipe is enjoying strong traction in the payments industry with solid operational and commercial progress this fall and early winter.
Leading stakeholders in the global payments industry are engaging with Zwipe because of our full dedication to biometric payment solutions, and our leading technology platform, Zwipe Pay ONE. To support our global efforts, we have recruited seasoned experts, both commercial and technical, from leading companies to accelerate our mission of bringing the next generation contactless payment solutions globally.
Acceleration in partnerships and issuer engagements
Our collaboration with TietoEVRY, a leader in payment services in the Nordics and Baltics, has already proven highly effective in accelerating commercialisation of Zwipe Pay ONE. Within weeks of our go-to-market agreement we jointly secured the first pilot on Zwipe Pay ONE with OP, the largest Financial Services Group in Finland. The bank aims to bring biometric payment cards to the market after the pilot. At the same time, many more dialogues with banks are ongoing, boding well for further commercialization in Europe and beyond.
Consolidating our global delivery footprint
We continued to leverage and expand our strong global partner network. In the last six weeks alone, we consolidated our position in the Middle East significantly, cementing and finalising our technology and go-to-market partnerships with three leading players in card payments, areeba, Inkript and VeriTech. Our partners have already started to put biometric payments on the agenda of leading issuers in the Middle East. We are also gaining momentum in other fast-moving regions. During the year, we also announced five new smart card manufacturing customers (in Asia, LATAM and Europe) and some first small orders.
Continuous progress equals de-risking
Monday 21 December, Zwipe and Idemia announced that the next generation biometric card secure chip they are co-investing in, has obtained the ICCN security certificate from EMVCo, as planned. Zwipe has worldwide exclusive rights to this disruptive single-chip biometric technology which, combined with our comprehensive biometric system on card offering and our deep technical and ecosystem expertise, is what makes Zwipe the natural “One Stop Shop” for all smart card manufacturers aiming to meet the soaring demand for a more convenient, truly contact free payment experience. The ICCN certification is one important step further in de-risking our solution towards the long awaited launch in 2021.
Looking ahead
In 2020 we have experienced increased interest in biometric payment cards with commercial activities picking up and first rollouts finally commencing on certified biometric card platforms. We look forward to more such rollouts during 2021 as the now mobilized ecosystem gains pace.
Market studies from the Nordics, the UK and the United States show strong demand from consumers for safer and more secure contact-free payments. A vast majority of consumers want their next payment cards to be biometric, and 1 in 2 is even prepared to pay a meaningful fee to the issuers for all the benefits that next generation cards deliver. We seem to face a broad, mass market demand, rather than a niche market demand only. Consequently, the long-term potential of the market for biometric payment cards (BPCs) seems to be much larger than previously anticipated. The recent ABI Research report on BPCs pointed to the likely long-term scenario that biometric payment cards will eventually take over from today’s contactless cards. In fact, I believe that biometrics will be as ubiquitous in payment cards towards the end of this decade as it is in mobile phones today.
We announced the first commitment for a pilot on Zwipe Pay ONE in 2020 and expect many more to come, laying the foundations for the first commercial deployments in 2021. While COVID-19 did cause some delays across some parts of our ecosystem, we also experienced an unprecedented acceleration in our engagements with issuers and card manufacturers in H2 2020. We are confident that our continuous progress and strategic go-to-market partnerships, as well as our technological leadership in biometric payment, are laying the foundation for a long journey of value creation for our customers, our shareholders and for society at large. We remain focused on securing important commercial wins going forward.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank each valued member of my outstanding team at Zwipe for their relentless efforts and to thank our customers, partners and shareholders for their immense faith in Zwipe.
On behalf of everyone at Zwipe, I wish you all safe and happy holidays. See you all in 2021!
Here is an overview of our recent major announcements:
Zwipe strengthens organization with top payments industry talents
Zwipe and VeriTech partner to deliver next generation contactless payments in Kuwait
Swedish consumer survey shows large interest in biometric payment cards in response to COVID-19
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About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY AND COURBEVOIE, FRANCE – 21 December 2020 - IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, has obtained, as planned, the ICCN security certificate from EMVCo, for the next generation biometric card secure chip, for which ZWIPE has secured worldwide distribution rights[1].This is a major step forward in delivering on our joint vision of an affordable biometric card for all.
In a context where global demand for contactless payments is booming, biometric cards are best placed to ensure secure, hygienic and convenient payments. The exclusive partnership and distribution agreement between IDEMIA and ZWIPE aims to promote biometric card as the reference for tomorrow’s contactless payments.
The ICCN[2] security certificate is a key milestone towards the next generation biometric card and confirms IDEMIA's outstanding expertise in the field of payments and biometrics. Our biometric payment chip complies with the most demanding performance and security criteria for a safe and convenient payment experience.
Ready-to-roll-out in the second half of 2021, the new generation biometric cards, FCODE Gen2 for IDEMIA, and the ZWIPE Pay ONE technology platform for ZWIPE, will deliver state-of-the art performance and security, as per market and schemes requirements. IDEMIA leverages its unique combination of payment, biometrics technologies and expertise to drive adoption, and accelerate market growth together with ZWIPE.
“With this new generation of biometric cards, we want to shape the future of payment and to offer an unparalleled and affordable technological experience, accessible to all. We are proud that IDEMIA's cutting-edge technology can deliver a new, more secure user experience to the market. Our ambition is to make biometric card a reality and more than ever, we are on the right track”, said Amanda Gourbault, IDEMIA’s Executive Vice-President Financial Institutions.
“The ICCN security certificate from EMVCo is an important step towards offering ZWIPE Pay ONE to our global customer network. This disruptive biometric technology platform, combined with our deep technical and market expertise, is what makes ZWIPE the natural One Stop Shop for all smart card manufacturers aiming to meet the soaring demand from issuers and consumers for a more convenient, truly contact free payment experience”, said André Løvestam, CEO of ZWIPE.
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About ZWIPE
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com / Follow @zwipe on Twitter
For further information, please contact André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 / ir@zwipe.com
About IDEMIA
IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space.
Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets – our identity – whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries.
For more information, visit www.idemia.com / Follow @IDEMIAGroup on Twitter
Press contact: Hanna Sebbah, idemia@havas.com /+33 (0) 6 63 73 30 30
[1] IDEMIA and ZWIPE partner to offer a disruptive biometric payments card platform, September 2019
[1]IDEMIA, ZWIPE and IDEX achieve key milestone towards next generation biometric card platform, April 2020
[2] ICCN: Integrated Circuit Certificate Number, a unique number that identifies the EMVCo compliance certificate for an IC
OSLO, NORWAY – 08 December 2020 – Zwipe, a leading biometric fintech company, is pleased to confirm that it has appointed John Goodale, formerly Senior Vice President, Sales Operations at TSYS International, as its new Chief Sales Officer, Andy Saines, formerly Sales Director at Giesecke + Devrient, as VP Key Accounts and Anders Bigseth, formerly PR Lead at Huawei Norway, as VP Marketing and Communications.
Mr. Goodale joins Zwipe in January 2021 after spending nearly two decades at TSYS, one of the world’s largest payments processors, serving in a variety of senior business development roles where his business acumen, coupled with his technical knowledge, has enabled him to develop compelling sales propositions and win new business across a broad portfolio of financial products and services all over the world. Mr. Goodale will lead Zwipe’s engagement and conversion efforts with smart card manufacturers, while also supporting engagement with issuers and selected go-to-market partners to further strengthen Zwipe’s position in the global biometric payments market.
Mr. Saines joins Zwipe from January 2021 from Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security, one of the world’s largest card manufacturers, where he served for nearly five years as UK Sales Director. Before that, he spent 18 years at Entrust Datacard, of which the last 5 years were as EMEA Sales Director. He brings with him extensive smart card industry experience and deep knowledge of card issuance solutions. As VP of Key Accounts, Mr. Saines will be responsible for driving deeper relations and business with strategic accounts.
Mr. Bigseth joined Zwipe as of 1 December 2020 with an award-winning background in public relations and communications, serving in a variety of senior communication positions at DNB, Teller (formerly Visa Norway), Telia and most recently Huawei, where he led public relations efforts in Norway. As VP Marketing and Communications, Mr. Bigseth will utilize his extensive communications experience and media network to further Zwipe’s strong position within the fast-growing segment of next generation contactless payments.
“The biometric payments marketplace is evolving quickly, and we see a strong increase in the demand for Zwipe’s products and services globally. I am delighted that we have been able to attract such qualified and talented new team members from such prominent companies. This is a testament to our strong position and future outlook,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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OSLO, NORWAY and KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT – 03 December 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and VeriTech, the leading payment and banking technology solutions provider in Kuwait, have partnered to address the growing demand for biometric payment solutions in Kuwait and across the Middle East.
VeriTech is the market leading provider of EMV payment card personalization, self-service kiosks, POS and Mobile NFC and Host Card Emulation to banks in Kuwait. Its vision is to be acknowledged as the trusted banking and payment distributor of leading next generation payment solutions across EMEA, whilst exceeding its partners and stakeholders’ expectations.
Speaking on the partnership Shakeel Khokhar, CEO of VeriTech, said “Kuwait has been a test bed and early adopter of innovative payment offerings for many years. Having seen firsthand other solutions in the market, we are excited to embrace Zwipe Pay ONE as our preferred biometric payment card product,” adding “the urgency with which issuers are demanding more contact-free payment alternatives is really driving interest and investment in this area with some of the largest banks in the region who we count as customers.”
Through this partnership, Zwipe will provide key components for the Zwipe Pay ONE biometric payments platform and take lead on providing advisory services directly to banks and card issuers focusing on user experience in close collaboration with VeriTech.
“This partnership is another big step forward for Zwipe in driving our continued expansion in the Middle East where we have a strong network of technology partners in place. Working closely with VeriTech, we will be harnessing both companies’ unique technology, product and market assets, including VeriTech’s close relationships with leading banks in Kuwait, to offer innovative biometric payment solutions” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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OSLO, NORWAY– 23 November 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe confirms that its Zwipe Pay ONE platform will be incorporated in the recently announced market pilot with TietoEVRY and OP Financial Group. OP is Finland’s largest financial services group offering banking, non-life insurance and wealth management services for over four million customers. TietoEVRY is the leading provider of software and digital banking services and a leader in card payment services in Nordic & Baltic region. Subject to a successful pilot, OP will consider launching biometric payment cards.
See announcement from TietoEVRY here.
Based on a disruptive single silicon payment platform, Zwipe Pay ONE is a first-of-its-kind solution delivering superior energy efficiency and excellent biometric performance at highly competitive prices.
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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 09:20 CET on 23 November 2020.
OSLO, NORWAY – 19 November 2020- The share capital increase of 1,000,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board of the company on 28 October 2020, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,290,657.60, and the new number of shares and votes is 32,906,576.
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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 10:00 CET on 19 November 2020.
OSLO, NORWAY – 29 October 2020 –
Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement from Zwipe AS dated 28 October 2020 regarding the final results of the subsequent offering, and the allocations of offer shares that were made to primary insiders.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
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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 further information please contact: Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO, +47 991 66 135 ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 23 July 2021 – As Zwipe continues to expand its relationship with smartcard manufacturers around the world, we are pleased to announce that a Global Tier 1 smartcard manufacturer has taken delivery of Zwipe Pay ONE components to evaluate inhouse manufacturing of biometric payment cards using Zwipe’s latest technology. Zwipe is a biometric fintech pioneering next generation contactless payment globally.
Zwipe Pay ONE is the world’s first single silicon based biometric payment platform offered to card manufacturers globally. It provides best in class biometric performance and energy efficiency at highly competitive prices. By enabling standard production processes and significantly lowering yield losses, it is designed to be mass market ready, delivering a significant improvement in both the consumer experience and the commercial benefits. Recent consumer studies demonstrate a very positive return on investment for this product enabling a strong business case for manufacturers and issuers to adopt it. Zwipe Pay ONE has delivered on its original design goals and offers significant opportunities across the payments value chain.
“As organisations around the world adapt to the increasing demands of their customers, we are seeing smartcard manufacturers gearing up to be able to supply this latest generation of biometric payment cards. This new initiative by one of the world's largest manufacturers signifies a key development for Zwipe as we move towards our new payment technology becoming a mainstream proposition for issuers and cardholders,” added André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing technology to 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 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and LES PAILLES, MAURITIUS – 16 JULY 2021 – Biometric fintech company, Zwipe and ICPS, a leading international card payment processor and card personalization bureau, are partnering to bring Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards to banks across Africa and Asia.
The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the use of contactless technology and ultimately the need for consumers and businesses to make higher-value payments using contactless cards. However, the contactless limit increase for payments also posed a higher risk for users without an additional layer of security.
ICPS and Zwipe have partnered to bring biometric payment cards enabled with fingerprint sensors. With a fingerprint sensor embedded in the card, consumers will now benefit from an extra layer of security with no need to enter a PIN code on the POS terminal.
Zwipe will provide the complete Zwipe Pay ONE package comprising Biometric ISO contact plate module, Passive inlay, Fingerprint sensor, OS license and enrollment sleeves. As part of this collaboration, both companies will work closely to promote the disruptive Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards for ICPS’ issuers in Africa and Asia.
“As a provider of innovative payment services in the African continent, we pride ourselves in delivering future proof innovations. Together with Zwipe we will bring a new payment solution that will help financial institutions to differentiate their services, provide safer and much more secure payment solutions and uplift customer loyalty. Zwipe is a well-regarded technology brand in the biometric payment space and we are very happy to join forces with them”, said Khevin Seebah, CEO at ICPS.
ICPS has a portfolio of more than 30 clients based in 22 countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. The company, which is based in Mauritius, provides payment processing and consultancy services for banks, financial institutions, and telecom operators. ICPS hosts more than six million cards, drives over 600 ATMs and 11,000 point of sale terminals, and processes over 10 million transactions on its platform each month.
André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said: “We are delighted to collaborate with ICPS and bring the next generation of contactless payment cards to banks in Africa and Asia. ICPS’ strong position among financial institutions across Afica and Asia, and Zwipe’s disruptive technology and deep expertise within biometric payment cards, will create a strategic foundation for a mutually rewarding partnership.”
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About ICPS
Founded in 2008, ICPS a subsidiary of the HPS Group, the latter being a leading global cards and payments technology provider serving 450 issuers and acquirers in 90 countries across five continents. Based in Mauritius, the firm provides payment-processing services for banks, financial institutions and telecom operators. It currently has a rich portfolio of more than 30 clients in 22 countries in Africa and Asia, which includes some of the world’s leading banks. ICPS activity covers hosting of more than six million cards, driving of more than 600 ATMs and 11,000 point of sale terminals, and processes more than 10 million transactions each month.
To learn more, visit https://www.icps.mu/
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing technology to 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:
Mr. André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
ICPS Sales team businessdevtraining@icps.mu
Summer Greetings from André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe
OSLO, NORWAY - 9 JULY 2021
Dear stakeholders of Zwipe,
Through the first half of 2021, our global payment ecosystem of Smart Card Manufacturers, Payment Processors, Banks and Go-to-market Partners has continued to expand at a rapid pace, further strengthening our foundation for future market success. In these challenging times, our growing team of competent and passionate Zwipers, spanning 14 different nationalities in nine countries across three different continents and five time zones from Colorado Springs to Singapore, has demonstrated exceptional teamwork with a solid focus on customers. I am delighted to share that the interest in biometric payment cards based on Zwipe technology, which deliver a more convenient, secure and safe means to pay, has never been stronger. The voices of consumers captured by Zwipe in the UK, USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Romania since August last year are encouraging and consistent with similar findings from card schemes and other industry players.
Entering the Indian subcontinent and APAC region
In the first half of 2021, we announced six new Smart Card Manufacturers into our ecosystem:
Together, these manufacturers deliver around 200 million payment cards annually. In addition, we extended and expanded our partnership with TAG Systems, who delivers 100 million payment cards annually. Looking forward, it is great to see that our SCM and processor and issuer pipelines continue to grow.
The encouraging developments with card manufacturers received a big boost when Asia’s largest payment processor, Financial Software and Systems (FSS) embraced our next-generation payment cards platform based on Zwipe Pay ONE technology. FSS manages over 800 million cards, and we are now working with them to bring our ground-breaking innovation globally. We also strengthened our regional presence by appointing Masterline and Sonali Intellect Ltd. as our business development partners in India and Bangladesh, respectively.
Acceleration in the MENA Region and Europe
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
On the back of growing demand for biometric payments cards in the MENA region, Network International (NI), providing payment services to over 200 banks in Middle East and Africa, and Middle East Payment Services (MEPS), a leading payment service provider in the Levant region, entered new partnerships with Zwipe. NI and MEPS have boosted our reach and delivery capabilities in the MENA Region, on top of our already strong network of prominent partners in the region, notably Masria Digital Payments, Inkript, areeba and Veritech. To effectively serve our growing partner network and issuers, we appointed Ramzi Saboury as the General Manager for the MENA region. Ramzi brings over 26 years of experience and network in payment services in MENA from leadership roles in Kuwaiti banks, VISA and areeba.
Europe and the UK
In the past few months, we have seen an increasing in-flow of interest from card manufacturers in multiple regions, most notably in Europe. The same can be said for issuer engagements that come through our Processor Partners and Card Manufacturers in Europe, especially in the UK and Nordics. This is proof that our “Megaphone” partner strategy works! Swedish fintech VOPY, providing embedded financial services to clients globally, and France-based payment service provider, be ys Pay, selected Zwipe Pay ONE (ZPO) cards for their ssuers, aiming to pilot Zwipe Pay ONE this year. Both these developments came within months of OP Bank’s decision to pilot with cards based on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform togheter with our Go-to-market partner, TietoEVRY. OP is Finland’s largest financial services group and serves over four million customers.
Delivery of Zwipe Pay ONE on track
We had strong progress in the development of Zwipe Pay ONE, the world’s first Single Silicon based biometric payment platform offered to card manufacturers globally. In April 2021, we demonstrated our enrollment solution and touch-free payment transactions above the transaction cap at a Point-of-Sales terminal with test keys to emulate fully EMV authorized and authenticated transactions in a live environment. The feedback from the market was very positive as everyone could see how these cards quickly and reliably provide a considerable boost to user experience and security.
In fact, we have now passed most critical milestones and major risk points,with only piloting and certification left before commercialization in mass volumes.
Next steps – pilots and certification
Apart from pilots planned from late this quarter, certification will represent the last milestone before commercialization. We have already performed pre-tests at accredited test labs with excellent results.
We are now working closely with the card schemes to secure these processes, which will be explained in detail during our H1 2021 reporting on 26 August. In the coming weeks, we will start handing out Zwipe Pay ONE demo cards to issuers and partners and continue to help them prepare for commercial launches.
Zwipe 2.0
Last, but not least, H1 2021 has seen further strengthening of our team across all functions – commercial, technical, operational and regional. We have engaged every Zwiper in developing and honing our Winning Team Culture, with our Core Values driving us to be Innovative, Collaborative, Adaptable and Passionate. Each recruitment is intended not only to add capacity, but also to uplift our team. I am also pleased to see further strengthening of our board.
I take this opportunity to thank each member of the Zwipe team for their remarkable effort and passion to our mission of Making Convenience safe and secure. My thanks also go out to all our customers, partners, and shareholders for sharing this mission as strongly as every Zwiper.
I wish each one of you a very safe and happy summer ahead!
OSLO, NORWAY and AMMAN, JORDAN – 24 JUNE 2021 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Network International Services Limited Jordan PSC (NI) have decided to collaborate to address the growing demand for biometric payment solutions in the Levant region.
The Network International Group is the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). It provides a robust suite of payment products and services that are on the cutting-edge of technology development. In 2020, Network processed over 750 million payment transactions for more than 200 financial institutions, 80,000 merchants and over 16 million cards.
Speaking on the collaboration, Amjad Al-Sadeq, Regional President – Levant at Network International Services Limited Jordan PSC, said: “COVID-19 has accelerated a mega-shift in our region towards more secure and hygienic payments. We are confident that our issuer clients and consumers will embrace biometric payment cards as they provide an excellent check-out experience with much higher security. Zwipe Pay ONE cards will enrich our payment portfolio and further reinforce our innovation leadership.”
Zwipe will provide Network International with technical support and services for the implementation of Zwipe Pay ONE biometric cards including deliveries to the issuers. The Zwipe Pay ONE-powered cards will be delivered by one of Zwipe’s certified smart card manufacturers in the region.
“The Levant is a key growth market for Zwipe in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Network International is the largest player in this vast region, and their strong relations with many prominent banks across the Middle East and Africa will be a significant complement to Zwipe’s technology leadership. We are honored to work with Network International to accelerate the deployment of biometric payment cards,” said Ramzi Saboury, General Manager for Zwipe in the MENA region.
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
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About Network International
Network International comprises of a group of companies and is the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, providing a full suite of technology-enabled payments solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all types and sizes, including acquiring and processing services and a comprehensive ever-evolving range of value-added services.
Network International Holdings Plc is the holding company for Network International and the group companies.
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 and 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
OSLO, NORWAY and DHAKA, BANGLADESH – 18 JUNE 2021 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe has appointed Sonali Intellect Limited as its sales and strategic business development partner to accelerate the adoption of biometric payment cards in Bangladesh. With 166 million inhabitants and a fast growing base of 22 million payment cards (credit cards grew 50% between 2019-20), Bangladesh represents a strategic growth opportunity for both partners.
For almost a decade, Sonali Intellect Limited (SIL) has been leading the modernization of the largest banks of Bangladesh, notably Sonali Bank and Rupali Bank. SIL delivers cutting edge financial technology solutions to Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance sectors in Bangladesh. SIL’s portfolio comprises Card Management Systems, Core Banking (Conventional and Islamic), Trade Finance, Treasury, Cash and Liquidity Management, Supply Chain Finance, Contact Centre, Brokerage and Wealth Management. Today, the SIL platform serves 2 banks, 1806 branches and 25.4 million end users.
"We are excited to partner with Zwipe and bring their ground-breaking payment innovation in Bangladesh. Biometric Payment Cards, due to their state-of-art security and world-class user experience will play a key role in fighting fraud, driving digital inclusion, and ensuring a seamless checkout experience for consumers. We have already started engaging with many key banks in the market and their early feedback has been encouraging”, says S.M. Jahangir Akhter, CEO of SIL.
As part of the collaboration both companies will work closely to help banks, card personalization bureaus and processors in Bangladesh to support Zwipe Pay ONE cards with the ambition to deliver pilots later this year.
Commenting on the sales partnership, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, says, "We are glad to partner with Sonali Intellect Limited. Their local market insights, deep relations with issuers and strong track record of innovation in financial services have already proven effective and align well with our expansion plans in high growth, high potential markets, such as Bangladesh. SIL has uncovered and demonstrated real market interest in Bangladesh, and we will collaborate closely to help the issuers pilot and roll out Zwipe powered biometric payment cards”.
For further information, please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
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About Sonali Intellect Limited
Sonali Intellect Limited, a financial technology solution provider, was incorporated as a joint venture company in 2012 by Intellect Design Arena Limited (erstwhile ‘Polaris FT Limited’) - a leading global financial technology group and Sonali Bank Ltd.- largest State Owned bank to deliver high quality IT solutions.
Sonali Intellect Limited provides cutting edge financial technology solutions to Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sectors in Bangladesh. Sonali Intellect Limited has adapted the best practices around software product development, delivery and implementation from Intellect Design Arena Limited. It is also backed by Intellect Design Arena Limited’s global experience and world-class management practices.
On the other hand, it has full-fledged development and support center in Bangladesh maintained by experienced local resources. These enable Sonali Intellect Limited to provide world-class solution and support services from its local development center to its customers in Bangladesh.
The company is leading the modernization of the largest bank of Bangladesh- Sonali Bank Limited and Rupali Bank Limited.
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
OSLO, NORWAY and DHAKA, BANGLADESH – 16 JUNE 2021 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Silkways Card & Printing Ltd (Silkcard), a leading provider of payment cards in Bangladesh, are partnering to bring biometric payment cards enabled by Zwipe Pay ONE technology to financial institutions and card issuers.
Silkcard is a fully functional EMV certified smart card manufacturer and personalization bureau with more than 15 years of experience in card production and personalization. It delivers a variety of cards to banking and retail customers in Bangladesh and abroad. Currently it delivers over 12 million payment cards annually.
“Biometric Payment Cards is a high-impact initiative and the future of contactless payments, lifting safety and convenience to a completely new level for our issuer customers and consumers alike. We see Zwipe Pay ONE as the state-of-the-art technology on biometric payment cards and look forward to a close collaboration with Zwipe,” says Sk Farid Ahmed, Managing Director of Silkways Card & Printing Ltd.
As part of the collaboration, Zwipe will deliver the Zwipe Pay ONE technology platform and expert guidance to help Silkcard manufacture and personalize biometric card payments for issuer clients. Silkcard will also work with Zwipe in commercializing biometric payment solutions in Bangladesh, helping the banks through all stages of pilot, launch and mass market rollout.
“We are very pleased to partner with Silkcard, one of the strongest providers in Bangladesh. With a population of over 166 million and an economy growing over 7% per year, this market represents significant growth potential for our innovation from security, financial inclusion and innovation perspectives. Together with Silkcard we will bring next-generation contactless payment cards in this fast-growing market,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Silkways Card & Printing Ltd
Silkways card & printing Ltd (Silkcard) is a pioneering venture for manufacturing & personalization of smartcards in Bangladesh with its state-of-the-art production facility located at the heart of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The vision of Silkcard is to comply with the ethical standards in business operations, financial disclosures, accountability and legal compliance. To learn more, visit www.silkways.net/silkcard
For further information please contact: Sk. Farid Ahmed Manik, MD, +88 01711 527359
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and AMMAN, JORDAN – 2 June 2021 – Middle East Payment Services (MEPS), a leading regional one-stop-shop for payment services and products, is partnering with biometric fintech Zwipe to bring next generation contactless payment cards in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
MEPS is a principal issuer and acquirer of payment cards in Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, and provides card issuance services to 27 financial institutions in this territory. The two organizations will collaborate closely, offering a more seamless and secure payment solution to customers by combining MEPS’s Issuance Platform and the Zwipe Pay ONE biometric card platform, supported by Zwipe’s card manufacturing partners in the MENA region.
Commenting on the partnership Ali Abdel Jabbar, Chief Executive Officer at MEPS, said “We are delighted to take this big step with Zwipe, a well-known technology brand in biometric payments. The disruptive Zwipe Pay ONE platform based on “single silicon” design will help us to uplift our end-to-end payments offering to our bank clients in the region. Zwipe Pay ONE is recognized as the most advanced (Gen3) biometric payment technology and complements MEPS’ innovative card portfolio. We are aiming to make it available for our clients for piloting and commercial deployment during H2 2021”.
As part of this collaboration, MEPS will offer Zwipe Pay ONE biometric payment cards with primary focus on Jordan, Iraq and Palestine. Both partners will start engaging with issuers from Q2 2021. “MEPS is one of the pioneers in delivering innovative payment solution in the MENA region. We are very pleased that MEPS will deliver its next generation payment cards based on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform. This collaboration will further strengthen our footprints in the MENA region and accelerate the deployment of Zwipe Pay ONE in one of the world’s most dynamic markets for digital payments,” said Ramzi Saboury, General Manager for Zwipe in the MENA Region.
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About MEPS
Middle East Payment Services (MEPS), founded in 2009, is a Principal Issuer and Acquirer of Visa, MasterCard, and UnionPay, with presence in Jordan, Iraq, and Palestine. The company offers financial institutions, merchants, and corporations, a complete range of secure payment solutions in card issuance / hosting, payment processing, alternative payments, ecommerce acquiring, point-of-sale (POS) acquiring, ATM driving and management, and customized value-added services adhering to PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). MEPS is owned by 10 Jordanian and regional banks.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 2 June 2021 – In accordance with the mandate given at Zwipe AS’s annual general meeting on 19 May 2021 to the board of directors (“the Board”) to issue new options to the company’s employees under the company's existing long-term incentive program, the Board has resolved to issue 220,000 new share options to primary insiders.
The strike price was set at NOK 30.13 in accordance with established principles in the program.
The following primary insiders in the Company have been granted additional share options by the Board:
The existing share-based incentive program covers employees and members of the Board. Each option gives the holder the right to acquire one share from the company at a strike price defined in the individual share option agreement. All options are conditional that the grantee remains employed. All vested options may be exercised in any period prior to the expiry date. The options vest every 6 months over 3 years from grant date and may be exercised at vesting. The share-based incentive program is dedicated for allocation to company management and employees, whereby they may be offered the opportunity of participating in a value growth in company shares. This is expected to lead to an increase in interest in the company’s value development.
Until the AGM in 2022, the Board is authorized to issue up to 2,306,319 options, of which a total of 1,911,000 options have now been issued.
Primary insider notifications pursuant to article 19 of the market abuse regulation are linked to from the document:
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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, and is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 23:30 2 June 2021.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information, please contact:
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO
+47 991 661 35
lars.kristian@zwipe.com
Correction of Annual General Meeting minutes published 19 May - Corrected name Board of Directors:
OSLO, NORWAY– 19 May 2021 – The Annual General Meeting in Zwipe AS (Company) was held today. All proposed resolutions were approved unanimously in accordance with the call for the meeting. The minutes of Annual General Meeting are included as an attachment. The complete proposal, which was approved by the Annual General Meeting, is available on www.zwipe.com for further reference. The attendants of the AGM represented 27.3% of the votes in the company.
The following matters were reviewed and confirmed:
Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2020:
The board’s proposal for the annual report and the financial statements for 2020 for the Company and the group were unanimously approved.
Election of members to the Board of Directors:
The following persons were unanimously elected to as the new Board of Directors:
Jörgen Lantto, Chairman of the board
Diderik Schonheyder
Johan Biehl
Dennis Jones
Stina Granberg
Tanya Juul Kjaer
Remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Nomination Committee
Remuneration to the Board members for the period from the AGM in 2021 until the AGM in 2022 were unanimously approved as follows:
Chairman of the Board: NOK 260,000,-
Members of the Board: NOK 130,000,-
No remuneration to the members of the Nomination Committee was resolved.
Board authorizations to increase the share capital and instructions to the Board regarding use of the authorization to increase the shares capital to strengthen the Company's equity
The Board proposed that two new authorizations for the Board on capital increases are issued, (i) to fulfil the Company's incentive program and (ii) to cater for strengthening of the Company's equity (extract, please see the attachment to the notice for the complete proposal).
i. Authorization for capital increase to fulfill the Company's incentive program
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the Board is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS (the Company), on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 230,631.90 (2,306,319 new shares), equivalent to 7 % of the registered share capital at the time of this resolution. The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2022, however not beyond 30 June 2022. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
ii. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the General Meeting granted a new authorization to the Board to issue shares corresponding to up to 15% of the share capital, and the new authorization shall be restricted to issue of shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2022, however not beyond 30 June 2022. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
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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 Market Oslo and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on May 20, 2021 at 09:15 CEST
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
For more information contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
