OSLO, NORWAY– 11 May 2023 – The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Zwipe AS was held Thursday 11 May 2023 at 10:00 (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 25.99% of the votes in the company.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence. To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 16:00 on 11 May 2023.
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 16:00 on 11 May 2023.
For more information, please contact
Danielle Glenn
CFO and Head of IR, Zwipe AS
E-mail: ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 25 April 2023 – During the first quarter, Zwipe continued to see positive interest in bringing biometric payment and access control cards to markets globally.
Significant events during the period
Significant events after the period
Operational review
The most significant event in Q1 2023 was the successful completion of the rights issue, with Zwipe securing approximately 100 mNOK in new capital that will be used to accelerate go-to-market strategy and commercialization of Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access solutions.
The first quarter saw Zwipe continue to expand our pipeline of SCMs and go-to-market partners by signing Wahyukartu in Indonesia, Unicard in Saudi Arabia, Antworks Money in India, and TBHP in Vietnam – all representing expanded geographic potential for Zwipe in bringing biometric payment cards to new markets. The company also continued to make progress carrying out pilot projects in the active execution phase. Some issuers are now communicating to Zwipe’s SCM customers that they will move directly to soft launch rather than undertaking pilot projects, something which should see more immediate revenue results for Zwipe. On the technology side, mobile enrolment solutions for Android and iOS were released on Apple’s AppStore and Google Play and Zwipe also released our Software Development Toolkit (SDK) for customers and partners.
While Zwipe continues to see strong interest in BPCs and the use case remains convincing, the pace of pilot launches and market adoption continues to be slower than Zwipe or other players in the market expected. That said, Zwipe remains convinced that the material benefits of BPCs remain clear for all and that market adoption will happen soon.
While progress with Zwipe Pay has been slower than desired, the first quarter saw tangible progress and excitement for Zwipe Access. Our North American partner Civix launched a Proof-of-Concept (“POC”) project at Richmond International Airport, carried out in conjunction with National Safe Skies Alliance, Inc. Also in North America, Zwipe signed a significant partnership agreement with CardLogix, a smart card provider that already provides access control solutions to our target end customers and is now adding Zwipe’s biometric solution to their portfolio. The company attended ISC West in March and came away from the event with 20+ qualified leads and potential partners, ranging from system integrators to security engineering companies to direct end customers. The first quarter also saw Zwipe make significant progress with Swedish and broader Nordic partners, aiming to reach Nordic enterprises with high security needs.
The above developments in the USA and Nordics translate into 15+ access control proof of concept projects targeted to be executed in the coming months at end-user sites. While it is too early to estimate immediate revenue potential from these engagements, Zwipe believes the bigger picture revenue potential is substantial.
Commercial priorities for 2023 remain unchanged, but the company has substantially reduced our planned expenditures for 2023. This should prolong funding towards the commercial inflection point and keep the average net monthly burn rate lower than 2022.
Financial review
Zwipe reported total revenue of 1.7 mNOK during Q1 2023 compared to revenue of 0.6 mNOK in Q1 2022. After adjusting for transaction costs related to fundraising, cash flow from operations was –24.7 mNOK versus –25.4 mNOK in Q1 2022, equating to an underlying average monthly operating cash flow in Q1 2023 of –8.2 mNOK versus –8.5 mNOK in the same period last year. With the successful completion of the rights issue, cash and cash equivalents stood at 121.9 mNOK at the end Q1 2023 compared to 130.6 mNOK at the end of Q1 2022 and 50.5 mNOK at the end of 2022.
Operational update presentation
CEO Robert Puskaric and CFO Danielle Glenn will do a short presentation on the operational update today, Tuesday April 25th, at 10:00 CET.
Audiocast details
Date: 25 April 2023
Time: 10:00 CET
Format: Audiocast and Q&A
Language: English
Link: https://app.webinar.net/OEXe514K1L4
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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in the Market Abuse Regulation (EU 596/2014) and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12, and is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 08:00 on 25 April 2023.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY - 24 April 2023 - The Board of Directors of Zwipe AS (the "Company") call for the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") to be held on 11 May 2023 at 10:00 CEST. The general meeting will be held as a digital meeting on Microsoft Teams.
Please find enclosed the notice of the AGM. The notice and Zwipe's Annual Report for 2022 are available on the Company's website, https://zwipe.com/investors.
Shareholders who wish to attend the AGM in person or by proxy or vote in advance are encouraged to register this electronically by following the link on the Company’s website https://zwipe.com/investors/general-meetings, via VPS Investor Services, by sending a signed version of the form attached to the notice by e-mail to genf@dnb.no, or by ordinary mail to: DNB Bank ASA, Registrars Department, Postboks 1600 Sentrum, NO-0021 Oslo. Notification of attendance, proxy or advance votes must be registered online or received by DNB Bank ASA, Registrars Department by 16:00 hours CEST on 10 May 2023.
In order to be invited to the meeting, Zwipe's administration will need to have the shareholder's email address in advance. Shareholders must after having registered their attendance also register their email address by sending an email to ir@zwipe.com prior to 16:00 hours CEST on 10 May 2023.
The Board of Directors (the "Board") has proposed the following agenda:
1. Opening of the annual general meeting by the chair. Registration of meeting shareholders
2. Election of a meeting chairperson and person to co-sign the minutes together with the chairperson
3. Approval of the notice and the agenda
4. Report by the management on the Company
5. Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2022 for the Company and the group
6. Remuneration to the auditor
7. Election of members to the Board
8. Remuneration to the Board and the members of the nomination committee
9. Proposal on implementing a new incentive program towards the Company's employees and key personnel
10. Proposals on authorizations to the Board on capital increase
Proposed decisions from the Board
Matter no. 5: Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2022 for the Company and the Group
The Board proposes that the annual report and financial statements for 2022 for the Company and the Group are approved.
Matter no. 6: Remuneration to the auditor
The Board proposes that the auditor's fees are paid as per accounts rendered.
Matter no. 7: Election of members to the Board
Subject to the AGM's approval, the Board for the period from the AGM in 2023 until the AGM in 2025 will comprise:
Mini-CVs for Christina Örn and David Chew have been included in the report from the Nomination Committee.
Matter no. 8: Remuneration to the members of the Board and the members of the Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee makes the following recommendation:
Fees to the Board for the period from the AGM in 2022 until the AGM in 2022 were resolved by the AGM on 23 May 2022.
Fees to the Board for the period from the AGM in 2023 until the AGM in 2024 is suggested as follows:
As to remuneration, the Nomination Committee proposes that no remuneration is paid to the members of the Nomination Committee.
Matter no. 9: Proposal on implementing a new incentive program towards the Company's employees and key personnel
The Company's compensation committee has in cooperation with specialists on incentive programmes in the Swedish company Novare Pay Consulting assessed the various aspects of the current SIP program, including the taxation of the options. Based on its assessments and input from Novare, the Compensation Committee has presented a new proposal for a long-term incentive scheme directed towards the Company's leading employees and other key personnel in the form of so-called restricted share units ("RSUs").
The main rationale behind the proposal of the RSU plan is to create a long-term ownership, being expected to stimulate an increased interest in the business and performance development. The Board believes that it is in the interests of all shareholders that executive personnel and other key employees who are important for the Company's development, have a long-term interest in a positive development of the Company's share price.
The vesting period for the RSUs is four years from award. RSUs will only vest if the average annual total shareholder return during the vesting period exceeds 10%. Vested RSUs will be settled in shares at vesting, where one RSU gives the right to one share. The Company will be entitled to settle vested RSUs in each instance with a cash settlement. The Board proposes that a maximum of 1,076,230 RSUs may be granted to participants in the RSU plan, which corresponds to a maximum dilution of approximately 1.8% percent of outstanding shares in the Company.
Based on the assumptions that all RSUs under RSU plan are granted and vested, a share price of NOK 10.4 at the time of settlement of the RSUs and an average percentage for social security contributions of 20%, the total costs for the program including social security contributions, is expected to amount to approximately NOK 6.3 million whereof NOK 2.2 million refers to social security contributions.
The RSU plan is suggested to replace the current option plan. Following resolution to adopt the RSU plan, no more options will be granted to employees. However, already granted stock options may be exercised.
Matter no. 10: Proposal on authorizations to the Board on capital increase
The Board proposes that two new authorizations for the Board on capital increases are issued, (i) to fulfil the Company's incentive programs and (ii) to strengthen the Company's equity.
The Board proposes that the AGM adopts the following resolution:
1. Authorization for capital increase to fulfill the Company's incentive programs
The Board is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of the company on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 293,038.80 (2 930 388 new shares), equivalent to approximately 5.0% of the registered share capital at the time of this resolution.
2. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity
The Board proposes that the AGM renews the 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 shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
The Board is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS with up to NOK 876,206.00 (8,762,060 new shares) on one or several occasions. The authorization may be used to issue shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
Tel: +47 909 98 201 and e-mail: danielle@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 and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 19:00 CEST on 24 April 2023.
OSLO, NORWAY – 24 April 2023 – Zwipe AS will publish its Q1 2023 operational update report on 25 April 2023 at 08:00 CET. On the same day at 10:00 CET, the Company will host an audiocast to present the update. After the presentation, the webcast will be opened up for questions from the audience.
Participants are strongly encouraged to submit their questions prior to the webcast on the registration page below or by sending questions to ir@zwipe.com. Participants will be required to register to listen to the audiocast and participate in the Q&A.
Webcast details
Date: 25 April 2023
Time: 10:00 CET
Format: Audiocast and Q&A
Language: English
Link: https://app.webinar.net/OEXe514K1L4
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence. To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 14 April 2023 - Zwipe AS (“Zwipe” or “the Company”) has decided to change the date of its Annual General Meeting (“AGM”). The company has previously communicated that its 2023 AGM would be held on 27 April 2023. The AGM will instead be held on 11 May 2023.
Zwipe has planned for its 2023 AGM to be held on 27 April 2023 and has, in accordance with applicable regulations, communicated this planned date to the public. One key preparation for the AGM of a listed Norwegian company is for the Nomination Committee to prepare a number of proposals for the AGM to consider and resolve upon. One such proposal relates to the appointment of board members. The Nomination Committee’s proposals are to be included in the notice to the AGM. Zwipe has been informed by its Nomination Committee that this work has not yet been concluded. Zwipe has decided to change the planned date of the AGM to allow the Nomination Committee to conclude its important work. The new planned date of the AGM is 11 May 2023. Notice and relevant information will be submitted in due course, as governed by the relevant regulations and by Zwipe’s Articles of Association.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 14:00 CET on 14 April 2023.
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For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
E-mail: ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY and HANOI, VIETNAM – 12 APRIL 2023 – TBHP Co Ltd., one of the largest bureau and service providers of cards in Vietnam, has partnered with Zwipe to launch biometric payment cards in Vietnam. With this partnership, Zwipe will provide commercialization support, expertise and technical guidance to help TBHP integrate biometric payment cards into its portfolio.
TBHP is a leading provider of barcode, magnetic and smart card applications and has provision of access control and security systems. The collaboration will allow both companies to develop and leverage the growing market opportunities in Vietnam for biometric on-card payment solutions.
Commenting on this partnership Hoang Nguyen Duc, CEO, TBHP said, “Over the past years, there has been a growing awareness of biometric payment cards in Vietnam. We are sure that this partnership will let issuers and consumers embrace biometric payment cards as they provide an excellent check-out experience with much higher security. Zwipe Pay will bring strong differentiation and value uplift to our card portfolio.”
Under this partnership, Zwipe Pay- based biometric cards will be delivered by Zwipe's partner TBHP in the region.
“The interest in adopting biometric payment cards is growing steadily in the APAC market. We are happy to partner with TBHP as we are confident that this alliance will further accelerate the deployment of biometric payment cards. With this partnership, Zwipe’s unique biometric payment card platform and enrolment solutions will be made available to banks and financial institutions in Vietnam, a dynamic and growing market for payments in Asia,” said Alex Chung, Vice President & General Manager for Asia Pacific, Zwipe.
About TBHP
TBHP Co Ltd. is a diversified 100% privately owned trading company with 20 years of experience supplying some of the biggest banks in Vietnam. Among the services and expertise, the company offers logistics management, technical consultancy, efficient and technologically superior equipment maintenance, training and technology transfer. By doing so TBHP enhances the intrinsic and extrinsic value of its product and services.
To learn more, please visit www.tbhp.vn
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 & secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card technology for both payment and physical & logical access control and ID solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with a global presence.
To learn more, please visit www.zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 31 MARCH 2023 - Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published by Zwipe AS (the "Company") on 21 March 2023 regarding the final result of the fully guaranteed rights issue of 20,862,047 new shares in the Company (the "Offer Shares"), at a subscription price of NOK 4.80 per share, raising gross proceeds of NOK 100,137,825.60 (the "Rights Issue").
The share capital increase pertaining to the Offer Shares has now been registered with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises (Nw. Foretaksregisteret). The Company's new share capital is NOK 5,841,373.20 divided into 58,413,732 shares, each with a nominal value of NOK 0.10.
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book - Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact
person set out above, at 10:00 CEST on 31 March 2023.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.
To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
E-mail: ir@zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 30 March 2023 – Zwipe AS ("Zwipe" or "the company") has today released its Annual Report 2022, including the Board of Directors report and financial statements. The report and annual accounts were approved by the Board of Directors after the close of business on 29th of March 2023. The 2022 Annual Report is attached to this release and available at https://www.zwipe.com/investors/reports.
Significant events 2022
2022 operational review
In 2022, Zwipe achieved several significant milestones and entered an “execution first” strategic phase. The company finalized technological development of the Zwipe Pay product and received both Visa and Mastercard certification, becoming the first biometric payment card platform available for sale on the open market to be certified by both major payment schemes.
A primary focus for the company in 2022 was executing our signed issuer pilots, with seven issuer pilot projects in the execution phase. During the second half, we implemented software changes related to biometric performance in Zwipe Pay cards and also updated our internal test procedures. These changes resulted in a more robust product and enhanced payment transaction experience that is expected to lead to faster completion of ongoing pilot projects as well as a significantly faster pace of new project launches in the coming quarters – with streamlined execution and commercial launch in all areas.
2022 also saw the company establish Zwipe Access as a separate business line with substantial revenue potential. We completed an important pilot project for Fraport AG at Frankfurt International Airport, with Zwipe shortlisted as an access control solutions provider when Fraport moves forward with its commercial tender process in 2023. We further reinforced our strong position in the airport vertical when Civix, a leading US provider of airport security solutions, selected Zwipe’s access control technology to augment their airport security propositions. The partnership with Civix is representative of our go-to-market strategy in access control to work with system integrator partners and distributors to bring our solution to market rapidly.
2022 financial review
Zwipe reported total revenues of 3.9 mNOK during 2022 vs. 2.5 mNOK in 2021, reflecting an underlying increase in Zwipe Pay revenues of 72%. Total operating expenses were 108.1 mNOK in 2022 compared to 85.5 mNOK in 2021. After adjusting for one-off, non-recurring costs in 2022 and receipt of a government grant in 2021, operating expenses increased to 102.2 mNOK in 2022 from 92.6 mNOK in 2021. Adjusted EBITDA was -96.4 mNOK in 2022 compared to -81.7 mNOK in 2021.
Underlying net cash use in operating activities in 2022 averaged 9.0 mNOK per month, an increase of 41% from 2021. This was mainly due to higher personnel costs, but non-recurring charges also inflated the 2022 monthly average burn rate and are not expected to continue.
On 31 December 2022, cash and equivalents were 50.5 mNOK, down from 152.3 mNOK at the end of 2021. Total equity at the end of the year was 54.6 mNOK, while total liabilities were 13.0 mNOK. This resulted in an equity ratio of 81%, down slightly from 91% at end 2021.
On 22 November 2022, Zwipe announced a rights issue raising approximately 100 mNOK in capital, with the transaction now being completed. The rights issue was fully guaranteed through a combination of subscription commitments and underwriting commitments from the three largest shareholders in Zwipe. It was carried out in order to strengthen the company’s financial position and enable the transition from start-up to scale-up and achieve larger-scale commercialization. The fundraising will ensure the Group has sufficient working capital for the period covering at least 12 months from the date of close.
Conclusion and going forward
Zwipe ended the year on a positive note with sequential quarterly growth of 172% in Q4 revenue and the single largest commercial order in a quarter to date. There is reason to believe that the markets for Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access are nearing an inflection point for increased commercial adoption of biometric technology solutions. Zwipe has good commercial traction, and expects more positive news flow in coming quarters. Our goals for 2023 include: executing the technology roadmap, completing the current R&D projects and maturing Zwipe technology to meet evolving demands; accelerating go-to-market for Zwipe's solutions to achieve large commercial scale; increasing our customer pipeline; supporting our SCM customers in becoming certified and mass production ready; executing more pilot projects in a streamlined manner; and continuing to invest intelligently in people and technology.
The aforementioned actions are expected to lead to positive business outcomes in 2023.
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo (Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book – Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 08:00 on 30 March 2023.
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About Zwipe
Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence. To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.
For more information, please contact:
Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
ir@zwipe.com
OSLO NORWAY and CALIFORNIA, USA – 28 March 2023 – CardLogix, a global supplier of smart cards for authentication, encryption, biometric and other card operating systems has partnered with biometric cards pioneer Zwipe as its technology partner in pursuing the global market opportunities for biometric access cards.
With the disruptive Zwipe Access platform, CardLogix will be able to deliver highly advanced and secure biometric card products that are also exceedingly user-friendly.
According to Sebastien Goulet, CEO of CardLogix, “We are excited about the opportunity that this innovative technology represents. The biometric solution provided by Zwipe combines breakthrough technologies and is the ideal platform for the next generation of highly secure access, ID cards and CardLogix biometric solutions.”
According to the partnership, CardLogix will provide secure loading of smart credentials for Zwipe’s BSoC access cards.
“We are happy that Zwipe is a part of this collaboration. What adds significance to this partnership is the value that CardLogix will deliver to our US customers and the availability for them of our leading-edge biometric access cards. We look forward to strengthening this relationship for supplying biometrics-enabled cards to our integration partners for access control solutions and their customers in airport, data center, critical infrastructure and other secure facilities across North America.” says Robert Puskaric, President and CEO of Zwipe.
About CardLogix
CardLogix, based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, USA, is a smart card & biometric solution provider, software developer, and the premier provider of smart card components with a comprehensive line of Software Development Kits (SDK), tools that enable swift card or biometric project development. Since 1998, CardLogix has supplied millions of cards and card components to over 84 countries around the world. As an expert in smart card and chip technology, card operating systems, card software, biometric enrollment, validation, verification, development tools, and middleware, CardLogix has continuously been at the forefront of smart card and biometric technology offering all types of solutions.
Please send media inquiries at sales@cardlogix.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 www.zwipe.com
OSLO, NORWAY– 6 JULY 2020 – It has been a busy and momentous last few months in the world of biometric payments. I am pleased to see how our partners and customers are strengthening their capacity to deliver next generation contactless payment solutions powered by biometric payments platforms from Zwipe. We observe first-hand an increasing awareness and interest from banks, local card schemes and even retailers that are sharing the view that biometric payments provide significant value to consumers.
What is happening in the marketplace?
Several “1st generation” biometric payment card platforms are now making their way towards the first small-scale commercial launches in 2020. These recent developments clearly signal that this technology will see commercial break-through, representing not only a means for banks to offer “peace of mind” to cardholders and achieve top-of-wallet effects, but also to realize a new source of revenue and value creation.
For fully understandable reasons, the payments ecosystem is by and large conservative, cost conscious and risk averse. This is why the biometric payments market has been long in the making.
Things are now changing, however. At an accelerating pace. Observing how the engagement and proactivity of our partners and the ecosystem are currently growing, I see clear indications that momentum is building, with awareness and interest increasing everywhere.
The team at Zwipe and myself are very excited by this progress.
Here is an overview of our recent major announcements:
It is all coming together
On the supply side, technology advancement, radical cost reduction and scalable production readiness are factors that make biometric payment a feasible proposition. On the demand side, COVID-19 has triggered growing demand and awareness for safe and hygienic payments in the entire society, with transaction limits raised in more than 40 countries worldwide to avoid unnecessary PIN entry and contactless payment rapidly growing everywhere. This builds on the already strong consumer interest for biometric payments before COVID-19, driven by the demand for convenience, security and the “coolness factor” derived from innovative solutions.
Our Zwipe Pay ONE platform is progressing as planned to deliver superior energy efficiency and excellent biometric performance at significantly lowered manufacturing cost thanks to advanced, single-chip innovation. Our confidence that this will be a very compelling proposition has grown further based on the series of recent awards given by smart card manufacturers for Zwipe Pay ONE to power their upcoming biometric payment cards.
Zwipe has pioneered biometric payment card technology and we now see commercial opportunities and engagements developing across the payment ecosystems. We see growing interest from smart card manufacturers, banks, payment schemes and retailers to see how Zwipe can help them to address consumer needs and concerns over contactless payments.
What Zwipe does goes far beyond the technology, it is about helping every stakeholder maximize the value that biometric payments can bring to society. As communicated in our PR on 2 June, we are complementing our collaboration with our direct customers, the smart card manufacturers, by actively stepping up our engagements with banks and neo-banks, as well as new players in card issuance, such as retailers and tech companies. I feel confident that this will accelerate our route to success while creating value for our customers, shareholders, and consumers.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank each member of my great team at Zwipe for their relentless efforts in Making Convenience Safe and Secure. On behalf of everyone at Zwipe, I wish all our customers, partners, shareholders and avid followers a safe and happy summer.
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BOLOGNA, ITALY and OSLO, NORWAY– 1 July 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Publicenter, Italy’s largest domestic smart card manufacturer, are pleased to announce the launch of a collaboration aimed at bringing the next generation contactless experience, powered by biometric payment cards and wearables to financial institutions and consumers across Europe.
Publicenter is a VISA and Mastercard certified smart card manufacturer, with over forty years of experience in card production and personalization. It delivers payment, loyalty and gift cards to major banking and retail customers in Italy and Europe.
“We have seen firsthand the potential of biometric payment cards and successful market trials in Italy, run on the Zwipe platform. With many of our customers asking for this product, we are confident that the partnership with Zwipe will be the most cost effective and time efficient route for us to offer this solution at scale” says CEO of Publicenter, Sandro Mucelli.
In Italy, 50% of all POS transactions processed were already contactless* pre-COVID 2019, and, as a result of increased transaction limits and an elevated focus on safety, this has grown since. With businesses beginning to open again, Publicenter plans to engage with customers to promote the value-add of biometric payment solutions.
“We are excited to work with Publicenter who have strong engagements with banks and retailers across Europe, including in our own home region of the Nordics. Working together, we will identify new commercial opportunities for both companies and implement a successful roll-out of Zwipe Pay ONE,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
*) Source: Europe; Spaargids.be; July 2018; Numbers concern payments processed by MasterCard
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About Publicenter
Publicenter has over forty years’ experience in high quality and cost-effective smart card production and personalization, being one of the leading card manufacturers in Europe. Main products are financial smart cards, loyalty/gift cards, and ID cards. Headquartered in Bologna, Italy, Publicenter is a Visa and Mastercard certified vendor for over 15 years. To learn more, visit www.publicenter.it
For more information contact: Sandro Mucelli, CEO, info@publicenter.it
OSLO, NORWAY – 29 June 2020 – Biometric fintech pioneer Zwipe and Thomas Greg and Sons do Brasil (TGS), one the largest smart card manufacturers in Latin America, are pleased to announce the extension of their exclusive partnership.
As part of uplifting the collaboration, TGS is commencing small scale manufacturing of biometric payment cards based on Zwipe’s platform, embracing the road to Zwipe Pay ONE and aiming to gradually ramp up production to address the ongoing market demand for safer and more secure contactless payments.
Since announcing the partnership in April 2019, the two companies have been working closely to fine-tune the technical aspects of the solution and evaluate the market appetite for biometric payments.
“We are now seeing increasing interest in biometric payment cards in our region, especially as consumers become much more familiar with contactless payments and demand safer and more hygienic payment alternatives in store. We have worked closely to adapt our manufacturing processes to integrate Zwipe’s biometric solution in our card production and we are excited to take this partnership to the next level,” says Mr. Hernani Finazzi, CEO of TGS.
“Latin America is a fast-emerging region when it comes to payment card usage. We are extremely glad TGS is taking a key step to embrace the Zwipe platform and bring our collaboration to a new level. We look forward to jointly addressing the needs of banks and consumers in Latin America going forward,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Thomas Greg & Sons do Brasil
The group Thomas Greg & Sons established in Brazil in 2000 to serve the Brazilian security printing market. In its 20 years of operation, the company has consolidated as one of the largest companies in the segments of Security Prints, Solutions, Smart Cards, Identification Systems and Traceability. Currently, the group is present in thirteen countries, with more than 10,000 employees. In Brazil, it has a branch in eleven states providing the national driver's license, identity card with automated biometric identification system, vehicle ownership document, traceability stamps, diplomas, electoral system, smart cards, among others.
To learn more, visit www.thomasgreg.com.br
Media Contact for Thomas Greg & Sons do Brasil: Hernani Finazzi, CEO +55 11 2666 8821, vendas@thomasgreg.com.br
OSLO, NORWAY– 18 JUNE 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Watchdata Technologies, a pioneer in digital authentication and transaction security, have partnered to develop and launch next generation contactless payment cards and wearables and bring these innovations to banks in multiple regions.
Watchdata Technologies is a Beijing based Chinese company, with Singapore as its international headquarters. It is serving 80 million banking customers in over 70 countries, the company has extensive operations in China, France, Russia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Mexico. Watchdata offers a wide range of payment products and services and is a VISA, Mastercard, China UnionPay certified manufacturer.
“Partnering with Zwipe to develop the next generation contactless experience aligns strongly with our mission of continuous innovation. Biometric capabilities uniquely combine convenience with security and safety, uplifting card payments’ experience to completely new levels. Integrating Zwipe Pay ONE into our smart card program will be key to competing and securing future business in this fast-emerging segment.” says Nicole Guo, Product Manager of Watchdata.
Zwipe will deliver key components and technical guidance as part of the agreement starting with biometric card payments.
Speaking on the partnership André Løvestam, CEO at Zwipe says “In China faster checkout in retail is cited as the number 1 priority for consumers. We are proud to partner with Watchdata, a fast-moving, innovative and global organization representing significant volume potential in many countries globally for the Zwipe Pay ONE platform. Together, we will develop and roll-out the next generation contactless experience through cards and wearables, addressing the security, safety and privacy needs of consumers worldwide.”
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About Watchdata Technologies
Watchdata Technologies is a recognized pioneer in digital authentication and transaction security. Founded in Beijing in 1994, Watchdata now have international headquarters in Singapore, 8 regional offices, and serve customers in over 70 countries. Watchdata customers include mobile network operators, financial institutions, transport operators, governments and leading business enterprises. Solutions from Watchdata provide daily convenience and security to over 1 billion mobile subscribers, 80 million e-banking customers and 50 million commuters. To learn more, visit www.watchdata.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 8 June 2020 – Zwipe is pleased to announce a new milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited (TFCT), a leading smart card manufacturer based in Hong Kong.
TFCT has placed an order that brings the recently announced partnership to begin small scale manufacturing of biometric payment cards. This is a key milestone as part of the setup project and necessary developments in preparing for high-volume market roll-out of Zwipe Pay ONE.
“We have allocated time and space in our manufacturing facilities for producing biometric payment cards powered by Zwipe’s technology. We are excited to move ahead with Zwipe in this important project to develop the biometric payments market” says Mr. Joseph Hui, Deputy Managing Director of Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited.
“The APAC payments market has one of the highest growth rates in the world. We are pleased that TFCT, a payment solutions leader in this region, has decided to step up cooperation to integrate our platform in their payment cards. We look forward to working closely with TFCT to deliver safer and more secure contactless payments with the disruptive Zwipe Pay ONE platform” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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OSLO, NORWAY– 02 June 2020 – Zwipe AS announces that Bishwajit Choudhary has accepted the position of Executive Vice President Strategy & Channels at Zwipe, commencing 2 June 2020. He will lead Zwipe’s engagement efforts towards banks, global and domestic card schemes, selected retailers and other important payments ecosystem stakeholders.
Based in Oslo, Mr. Choudhary brings two decades of experience from Nets where he led many new business initiatives within Digital-ID, electronic signatures and mobile authentication for international clients. As the Group SVP (Strategy) he led Nets' market intelligence and strategy execution and played a key role in many commercial initiatives, notably open-banking data analytics, customer advisory, strategic alliances and fintech partnerships. Prior to joining Zwipe, he was Chief Commercial Officer at UserTribe, a global leader in delivering deep customer insights in 100+ countries based on live experience data.
“With increasing activity in payment cards and wearables in general, and biometrics in particular, and with Zwipe poised to take a technology and cost leadership position in this high potential market, timing is right for Zwipe to complement our growing engagements with our direct customers, the smart card manufacturers, by embarking on a “pull strategy”. This means that we will step up our engagements with banks and neo-banks, as well as new players in card issuance, such as retailers and tech companies. With deep insights in the payments industry, Bishwajit will add a valuable breadth in our payments expertise and lead our strategy and channel development,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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OSLO, NORWAY– 19 May 2020 –
Financial Calendar 2020 – 2021
Interim Report January-June 2020 August 27, 2020
Financial Year 2020 Annual Report February 25, 2021
Annual General Meeting May 19, 2021
Interim Report January-June 2021 August 26, 2021
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OSLO, NORWAY– 14 May 2020 – 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 11,2% of the votes in the company.
The following matters were reviewed and confirmed:
Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2019:
The board’s proposal for the annual report and the financial statements for 2019 for the Company and the group were unanimously approved.
Election of members to the Board of Directors:
The following persons were unanimously elected to comprise the new Board of the Directors:
Remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Nomination Committee
Remuneration to the Board for the period from the AGM in 2020 until the AGM in 2021 were unanimously approved as follows:
Chairman of the Board: NOK 260.000,-
Members of the Board: NOK 130.000,-
As remuneration, it was unanimously approved that members of the Nomination committee each receive a total of NOK 40.000 for each year in the term they have served (two years). Jörgen Lantto is covered by the board member remuneration and will hence not receive remuneration for his seat on the nomination committee.
Board authorizations and instructions to the Board regarding use of the authorization to issue shares to increase 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.
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 216 946.70 (2,169,647new shares), equivalent to 8.5% 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 2021, however not beyond 30 June 2021. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
ii. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity (extract, please see the attachment to the notice for the complete proposal)
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the General Meeting granted a new authorization to the Board to issue shares corresponding to up to 25% 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 may be used to issue shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time. The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2021, however not beyond 30 June 2021. 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 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, on May 14, 2020 at 23:15 CET
OSLO, NORWAY – 7 MAY 2020 –
Q1 2020 Highlights
Developments after the period
CEO Comment
André Løvestam, Chief Executive Officer at Zwipe, said:
“Q1 2020 has been an intense quarter for Zwipe.
We started the year by listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market on January 28th, and have seen considerable interest in Zwipe across the Swedish investment community.
This quarter has also been marked by unprecedented global uncertainty tied to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. With the aim to protect our employees from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Zwipe quickly adapted with various protective measures such as remote work and travel bans. We have been able to continue operating remotely, with little to no impact being seen across our operations. Our commercial team has ramped up activity and been able to engage more frequently and openly as a result of the entire industry transitioning to videoconferencing as opposed to travel-intensive face-to-face meetings.
We observe an extensive focus on and interest in the improved hygiene and safety of biometric payment solutions; the awareness of biometric advantages is significantly higher than pre-Corona. This elevated focus on safety has significantly increased the growth of contactless transactions, and transaction caps have been raised all over the world1. Hygiene may become an accelerator and game-changer for biometric payments. A biometric payment card effectively eliminates the need to ever touch the payment terminal keypad – regular cards require PIN above the transaction limit, after a set number of transactions, and when the cumulative value of transactions has reached its limit.
We are seeing growing momentum across the payment ecosystem with increasing investment in supporting biometric payment card deployment. Zwipe is now working closely with partners across the value chain in developing a highly competitive offering in terms of energy efficiency and biometric performance at industry-leading manufacturing costs; Zwipe Pay ONE. This next generation contactless technology will achieve a radically lower total manufacturing cost per card, which we believe will be key to accelerate the volume market take-off. Therefore, we are proud and satisfied that the Zwipe Pay ONE project and the collaboration with Idemia and Idex is on track, as announced in April. The first samples of the new single chip have been manufactured and successfully powered-on. This development is very positive as our customers wish to get access to Zwipe Pay ONE as early as possible to be able to serve card issuers with the market’s most cost-effective biometric payment cards.
Recent certification industry announcements bring further confidence to the trajectory of biometric payment card rollout. Certification of payment products is a rigorous and capital-intensive process for card manufacturers and a strong signal of intent to capitalize on the next natural step for payment cards, following the introduction of dual-interface payment cards in 2007.
I am also satisfied with the very good progress in the wearable project announced with G+D in September, as this project is also on track.
Looking ahead, we are committed to supporting our customers to elevate their product portfolios by making it easy to integrate biometric payment solutions. Key to this work is technical deliverables and sharing the expertise we have built from having the most widely piloted solution to position, educate and market biometric payment cards to banks and issuers. We are doing everything in our power to build and maintain strong relationships with our industry-leading partners that will create sustainable long-term commercial opportunities for themselves and Zwipe going forward.”
Financial Update
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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, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on May 7, 2020 at 08:30 CEST
