OSLO, NORWAY and HYDERABAD, INDIA – 6 April 2021 – KL HI-TECH, one of India’s largest payment card manufacturers, has selected the Zwipe Pay ONE platform to deliver biometric payment cards to its clients in India and key international markets. Zwipe is a FinTech that has pioneered the development of biometric payment cards and delivered many successful pilots globally.
Founded in 1988, KL HI-TECH currently delivers a total of 128 million cards per year, of which approximately 30 million are payment cards, serving some of the largest banks in India and abroad. As per the recent Nilson Report (2020) KL HI-TECH is the 2nd largest payment card manufacturer in India and the 31st largest in the world.
KL-HI TECH engaged with Zwipe in early 2021 and after extensive evaluation of available alternatives selected Zwipe Pay ONE as the preferred biometric card platform for its next generation payment cards.
"KL HI-TECH has over three decades of experience in helping drive our clients’ growth through differentiation and innovation in payments. We are constantly seeking new technologies & innovations to enhance the payment experience to people in India and across the globe.
With the impact of the pandemic still being felt across India, consumers’ focus on safety and hygiene has increased significantly. In collaboration with Zwipe, we will deliver physical cards that will enable payments to be completely touch-less through a PIN-free checkout experience for consumers with much higher security. Our assessment shows that Zwipe Pay ONE represents the most advanced and high-performing solution and will be the first mass-market viable platform”, said P. Srinivas Rao, Chairman & CEO of KL HI-TECH.
As part of this agreement, Zwipe will provide biometric technology and technical services to enable KL HI-TECH to manufacture Zwipe Pay ONE test cards from Q2 2021. The partners are already jointly engaging with issuers in India with the aim of launching pilots from Q3 2021 and supporting the first full market launches towards the end of this year.
"We are extremely pleased that KL HI-TECH has selected Zwipe Pay ONE as their biometric payment card platform. India is one of the world’s most attractive payment markets in size, growth rates and business potential. Complementing each other, Zwipe and KL HI-TECH will leverage each other’s unique technology, product and market assets, including KL HI-TECH’s extensive relationships with the leading banks in India, the Middle East and Africa, to offer innovative biometric payment solutions,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
###
About KL HI-Tech
KL HI-TECH Secure Print Limited (KLHT) is a leading provider of secure print products and printing solutions. Commencing its operations in 1988, KLHT has played a pioneering role in enabling secure payment transactions, banking services and facilitating tele communications in India through its secure print products.
At its sprawling state-of-the-art highly secure manufacturing facility located in Hyderabad, the company operates using stringent global standards that are required to manufacture a range of security printing products.
The company is certified by Visa, Mastercard & RuPay (National Payments Corporation of India). As per the Nilson Report (2020) KL HI-TECH is the 2nd largest banking card manufacturer in India and 31st largest banking card manufacturer in the world.
KLHT’s business ideology revolves around the prime objective of providing comprehensive, fool-proof security in critical secure print products. KLHT plays a pivotal role by manufacturing products for the following sectors:
Exporting to over 52 countries across the Globe, KLHT aims to become one of the leading suppliers of secure print products globally, whilst also pioneering innovation and change to the way payments are made in India and across the globe.
For further information please contact Kartik Shekar, VP – Projects, kartik@klhitech.com, +91 8008 188 466
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 – 18 March 2021 – The primary insider Energetic AS, owned by André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe AS, has yesterday and today acquired a total of 416,000 shares. Energetic AS’ shareholding after the transaction is 916,000 shares.
The shares have been acquired as follows:
Euronext Growth Market in Oslo:
First North Growth Market in Stockholm:
Attached is a copy of the form submitted to the Norwegian FSA, Finanstilsynet, reporting the transactions as listed above.
###
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act § 5-12.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards 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
OSLO, NORWAY – 2 March 2021 – Tag Systems, a leading provider of payment cards (and part of AUSTRIACARD Group) has decided to step up its collaboration with Zwipe on biometric payment cards. The parties have been working together since 2019 and as the biometric payment cards marketplace has evolved, they are now stepping up their collaboration to bring the most advanced new biometric payment cards to issuers in Europe and North America. Tag Systems also placed a small order for Zwipe Pay ONE.
Since establishing its first card production and personalization facilities in 1999, Tag Systems has grown rapidly and joined forces with AUSTRIACARD Group. Together the group delivers 100 million payment cards each year across Europe, the Middle East and the US. While serving many large European banks, Tag Systems has also grown rapidly in the challenger bank segment, including the establishment of Tag Nitecrest in the United Kingdom and expanded reach by opening a US-based card bureau servicing the North American market.
Speaking on the partnership Jon Neeraas, CEO of Tag Systems, said “After almost two years of technology partnership, our collaboration with Zwipe has never been stronger. We are excited about the interest we see for our new biometric payment cards built on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform, which delivers the highest level of integration and performance. With increasing interest for these cards from our issuer clients, time is right to expand our collaboration and proactively develop the market and accelerate commercialization”.
As part of the new agreement, Tag Systems will proactively promote Zwipe Pay ONE biometric payment cards towards issuers and partner bureaus in Europe and the USA. The two parties have also agreed to execute a go-to-market plan to jointly sell and market these next generation payment cards.
“We are delighted with the renewed and uplifted agreement with Tag Systems, one of our long-standing partners. This will accelerate activities with issuers in Europe and the USA. Our collaboration is now entering the commercial phase where we will scale our businesses through pilots from late summer 2021 and market launches towards the end of the year. I thank Tag Systems for their continued trust in Zwipe, and look forward to a mutually rewarding partnership,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.comFor further information please contact: André Løvestam, CEO, +47 991 66 135 info@zwipe.com
About Tag Systems
Tag Systems, part of Austria Card Group, is evolving the way the payment industry moves, by seamless supply of ready-made payment cards throughout all European countries and more. Our fast-growing Group with more than 900 employees make sure we deliver high quality products and services to financial institutions.
Media Contact: Olga Baro, +376 358 321 obaro@tagsystems.net
OSLO, NORWAY – 25 February 2021 – Zwipe AS today publishes its annual report 2020.
Highlights for 2020 include:
Financials
Revenues increased to MNOK 1.8 (MNOK 1.5).
Operating expenditures were reduced to MNOK 63.7 (MNOK 96.8). In constant currency, this represents a 38% reduction. The savings resulted from the streamlining program as announced in November 2019.
EBITDA improved to MNOK -59.9 (MNOK -92.0), mainly due to the implementation of the streamlining program.
Results before tax was MNOK – 61.9 (MNOK -94.9), and earnings per share improved to NOK -1.89 (-5.98).
Cash flow from operations before financing improved to MNOK –62.1 (-85.0). The cash flow in 2020 included co-investments with Idemia of MNOK 19.7, compared to MNOK 9.3 in 2019. Adjusted for these elements, the operating cash flow was improved by 39% compared to 2019.
The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend be paid for 2020.
Significant events 2020
Zwipe listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm, Sweden.
Zwipe expanded its growing network of industry partnerships covering Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa during 2020 including the 5 new customer partnerships announced; Masria Digital Payments, Watchdata Technologies, Toppan Forms Card Technologies, Asia Credit Card and Publicenter.
Zwipe also partnered with Liveo Research, Smart Technology Services, Wisecard and CardMatix, expanding our ecosystem to enable cost-efficient mass-volume manufacturing of biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay ONE.
Zwipe and Idex entered a collaboration framework for Zwipe Pay ONE. Idemia, Zwipe and Idex achieved several key milestones towards the next generation biometric card platform.
Zwipe and TietoEVRY joined forces with a landmark agreement to deliver biometric payment solutions based on the Zwipe Pay ONE solution to banks in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The agreement significantly increases our market reach as TietoEVRY is the leading provider of payment cards to issuers in these regions.
Zwipe secured a strong foothold in the Middle East through go-to-market partnerships with three leading players in card payments: areeba, Inkript and VeriTech.
Zwipe successfully completed a private placement, followed by a subsequent repair offering, issuing 7,381,315 new shares and raising approximately NOK 111 million in gross proceeds in total.
Zwipe placed an order for 300,000 units of Idex’s next generation fingerprint sensors to support the rollout of Zwipe Pay ONE.
Zwipe conducted several cardholder insight studies including some with our partners. Insights from the Nordics, UK and the United States show strong consumer interest for safer and more secure payments.
In partnership with TietoEVRY, Zwipe secured the first pilot program with Zwipe Pay ONE with OP Financial Group, the largest Financial Services Group in Finland.
Zwipe’s next-generation chip for biometric payment cards, in which Zwipe has co-invested with Idemia, obtained the ICCN security certification from EMVCo.
Significant Events after the period
Swedish fintech Vopy chose Zwipe’s biometric payment platform, Zwipe Pay ONE, for its biometric payment cards. Vopy’s partner network consists of telecom providers and financial institutions that reach millions of consumers.
Announced agreements with 4 new smart card manufacturers.
André Løvestam, CEO comments
"2020 was a landmark year for Zwipe. In 2020 we positioned the company for growth through significant expansion in our customer and partnership engagements, advances in our technology leadership, and by strengthening our organization. We have seen increased public awareness of the importance of contactless payment and a sharp rise in demand for safe and secure payment solutions. The Zwipe Pay ONE development project has now passed its most critical milestones and the first pilots incorporating Zwipe Pay ONE have already been announced. The next steps, in addition to full completion of our internal development, are to prepare our smart card manufacturers and issuers for pilots, certification and volume production, after which fully certified biometric payment cards will be available from our customers to issuers for full commercial launch,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
He added, “While COVID-19 has created and continues to create challenges to project execution, the elevated focus on safety following the pandemic has dramatically increased the growth of contactless transactions and transaction caps have been raised all over the world. Hygiene and safety are likely to become accelerators and game-changers for biometric payments for years to come. We experienced an unprecedented acceleration in our engagements with issuers and card manufacturers throughout 2020. We are engaging with more than 250 banks and over 40 of the world’s top 50 smart card manufacturers and our pipeline in both these segments has never been stronger. We are confident that our strategic partnerships, global technology excellence, focused engagements with issuers, as well as our end-to-end trusted advisor approach and unique one-stop-shop offering, are laying the foundation for many commercial wins ahead”.
“By bringing together leading suppliers of technology, payment cards, personalization, fulfilment services, and processing services, as well as issuers with a strong end-user focus, we have created an end-to-end ecosystem to deliver Biometric Payment Cards in key markets. We are well prepared to address a global market with strong long-term growth and value creation potential,” Løvestam concluded.
###
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
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 08:02 CET on 25 February 2021.
OSLO, NORWAY – 25 February 2021 – Zwipe AS today publishes its second half-year 2020 report.
Summary Financial development for second half-year:
Revenues of MNOK 1.0 (MNOK 1.2).
Operating expenditures were reduced to MNOK 31.3 (MNOK 60.2). In constant currency, this represents a 49% reduction. The reduction is due to cost of MNOK 19 in H2 2019 related to the jointly funded development collaboration with Idemia, as well as savings as a result of the streamlining program announced in November 2019.
EBITDA improved to MNOK -29.1 (MNOK -56.6) mainly due to the implementation of the streamlining program.
Results before tax was MNOK -30.4 (MNOK -58.8), and earnings per share of NOK -0.93 (NOK -3.69).
Cash flow from operations for the second half-year of MNOK -20.1 (MNOK -51).
The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend be paid for 2020.
The annual report 2020 will be released through a separate stock exchange announcement shortly after this announcement.
###
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
This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 08:00 CET on 25 February 2021.
OSLO, NORWAY – 18 February 2021- The share capital increase of 21,832 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 19 January 2021, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,292,840.80, and the new number of shares and votes is 32,928,408.
###
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
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 21:10 CET on 18 February 2021.
OSLO, NORWAY – February 10, 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe is pleased to announce that over the recent months it has finalized four new partnerships with prominent card manufacturers in Asia-Pacific and Europe. The combined annual card shipment from these new customers is in excess of 1 billion, of which payment cards constitute more than 150 million.
The new card manufacturers are working with Zwipe to develop and exploit the new market opportunities for biometric payments. As part of their engagement with Zwipe, these customers have chosen the Zwipe Pay ONE platform for delivering biometric payment cards to the issuers, targeting pilots before the end of 2021. Subject to positive pilot results, mass-market rollout will follow.
Commenting on these partnerships, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “We continue to see strong traction from card manufacturers all over the world to engage with Zwipe on biometric payment cards based on our Zwipe Pay ONE platform. This is well matched by interest from issuers who are keen to deliver the next generation contactless payments experience to consumers, combining the convenience and safety of truly contact-free with the security of strong biometric authentication.”
###
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 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – 3 February 2021 – Biometric technology company Zwipe is pleased to announce that its biometric payment platform, Zwipe Pay ONE, has been selected by Swedish fintech Vopy, a provider of embedded financial services for telecom and financial institutions. Vopy is headquartered in Stockholm and has its R&D in Oslo.
As a commercial issuer, Vopy will issue biometric payment cards powered by Zwipe Pay ONE and delivered by card suppliers in Zwipe’s network. Vopy’s partner network consists of telecom providers and financial institutions that reach millions of consumers. In the first phase of collaboration, Vopy aims to launch a pilot in Q3 2021. Subject to a positive outcome from the pilot, Vopy aims for an initial rollout from Q4 2021, starting with 100.000 biometric payment cards by the end of this year and 500.000 cards in 2022.
Vopy is an innovative fintech specializing in embedding cross-border transfers, payments, insurance and banking services through selected social media platforms and mobile apps. This enables Vopy’s partners to quickly scale their financial services globally with efficiency, lower costs and great agility.
“As a disruptive financial services platform provider, it is crucial for Vopy to deliver a payment solution built on world-class security and user experience. Having closely followed Zwipe’s innovations in biometric payments and their global delivery network of card suppliers, our decision to go for Zwipe Pay ONE was a natural one. We are very excited about our collaboration with Zwipe and we aim to bring our strengthened financial services portfolio to partners in Asia, USA and Europe”, says Håkan Tollefsen, CEO, at Vopy AB.
Based on a unique single silicon design, Zwipe Pay ONE is the most integrated, energy efficient and mass-market viable platform for biometric payment cards. An on-card fingerprint authentication of the cardholder eliminates the need to touch a payment terminal, even for high-value transactions, ensuring a safer, more secure and hygienic in-store payment experience.
“The decision by Vopy to pilot and rollout biometric payment cards in 2021 based on Zwipe Pay ONE is a testament to our advanced and competitive technology and global delivery capabilities thanks to our card supplier network. We are grateful for Vopy’s confidence and ready to support them with biometric payment cards on their ambitious expansion journey,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
###
Vopy is enabling Embedded Finance solutions for consumer brands, Tech providers and Financial Institutions through open APIs. The business is to embed innovative Financial Services into existing user experiences like social media and apps for mobile subscribers. Vopy also provide a fully digital bank solution within a
multitenant system to host multiple Brands in one environment. Vopy Technology AS was established in Norway in 2014 and is since November 2020 a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vopy AB (publ). Their headquarter is in Stockholm and with an R&D centre in Oslo. www.vopy.com
For further information please contact: Håkan Tollefsen, CEO, +47 99050011 hello@vopy.com
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– 28 January 2021 – The Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Zwipe AS was held today. All proposed resolutions were approved unanimously in accordance with the call for the meeting. The minutes of the EGM are included as an attachment. The complete proposal, which was approved by the EGM, is available on www.zwipe.com for further reference. The attendants of the EGM represented 24.57 % of the votes in the company.
The following resolutions were made:
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 EGM resolved to approve the following new nomination committee:
Further, the general meeting resolved to approve that Lars Windfeldt was appointed as the chair of the nomination committee.
“We are pleased to be a long-term investor in Zwipe, and we have since our first investment in Zwipe in September last year increased our shareholdings considerably. We believe the company is well positioned for success in a global market with fast-growing demand for truly contact free card payments. As part of this journey, I am happy that the general meeting approved the proposal from the current nomination committee and the board. I am looking forward to contribute in the new nomination committee and ensure Zwipe shareholders’ interests are optimized,” Niclas Eriksson of Vasastaden said.
###
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. 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 28 January 2021 at 11:30 CET
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
The Board of Directors of Zwipe AS, org. nr 994 553 607, has on November 10, 2019, subject to the approval by an Extraordinary General Meeting, decided to carry out a preferential rights issue of up to MNOK 74 by issuing up to 10 635 525 shares, implying an increase of the Company’s share capital of up to NOK 1 063 553.
90 percent of the Rights Issue, amounting to MNOK 67, is already covered through subscription commitments and underwriting commitments from current shareholders and new investors.
Background and purpose
During 2019 Zwipe has made significant technological, commercial and organizational progress. Most notably, Zwipe entered a strategic collaboration with Idemia on a disruptive technology platform for biometric payments. Furthermore, Zwipe successfully completed the prototyping of its in-house Z5 energy harvesting and power management chip, extended its network of card manufacturer clients, delivered according to its first received order for its second generation inlay technology, and was engaged by G+D Mobile Security to provide product design and prototyping for a wearable biometric payment device to be piloted by a leading bank.
The preferential rights issue is carried out in order to secure working capital toward commercialization and scale-up of Zwipe’s technology platform. The commercialization efforts will be accompanied by a targeted program to focus and streamline the company’s resources.
CEO André Løvestam commented “This rights issue is planned to extend Zwipe’s financial runway all the way to scale-up of biometric cards, and I am pleased that we have achieved a 90% guaranteed subscription. We now see a clear path toward finalizing and commercializing our technology, with the required capital resources to get to that point.
Zwipe is streamlining its product roadmap and pursuing cost saving opportunities that will reduce the current burn-rate. This has been made possible on the back of the strategic collaboration with Idemia, the global leader in Augmented Identity and one of the world’s largest payment card manufacturers, on a disruptive technology platform that we together with our partner Idemia believe is a game changer and a catalyst for growth in the industry. The new platform will integrate and simplify component design, drastically reducing costs of the product itself and the manufacturing process. As a result, a complete biometric payment card cost of below USD 10 is becoming realistic, providing an accelerated path to mass volumes while giving Zwipe a long-term cost leadership position.”
Summary of Rights Issue
The subscription price is NOK 7.00 per share. The Company’s shareholders have preferential rights to subscribe to the new shares in relation to the number of shares currently held. For each recorded share the shareholder obtains one (1) subscription right. Three (3) subscription rights entitle to subscription of two (2) newly issued shares.
The Record Date for participation in the Rights Issue is planned for December 4, 2019. The subscription period is expected to run from December 5 up to and including December 19, 2019. The Board of Directors shall have the right to extend the subscription period if deemed beneficial. In the event that not all shares have been subscribed for in the Rights Issue, the Board of Directors, within the maximum scope of the Rights Issue, resolve on the allocation of shares subscribed for without subscription rights.
The Company has obtained subscription commitments and undertaking commitments from a number of current shareholders and external investors. The subscription commitments from existing shareholders, and external investors who will receive subscription rights from major shareholders who cannot participate, amount to 16.1 percent of the Rights Issue. Underwriting commitments amount to an additional 73.9 percent of the Rights Issue. In total, the subscription commitments and underwriting commitments from current shareholders and new investors amount to MNOK 67.0, corresponding to 90.0 percent of the Rights Issue.
Timetable for the Rights Issue
The below timetable for the Rights Issue is preliminary and may be adjusted:
Prospectus
Complete information regarding the Rights Issue and information about the Company will be included in the prospectus that is expected to be published on or about December 4, 2019.
Extraordinary General Meeting
To obtain approval to carry out the Rights Issue, the Board of Directors has decided to call for an extraordinary general meeting. The extraordinary general meeting is to be held on December 2, 2019 at 11:30 at the office of Simonsen Vogt Wiig Advokatfirma, Filipstad Brygge 1, Oslo. The notice of the meeting will be published today through a separate press release.
For further information please contact:
André Løvestam, CEO: andre@zwipe.com +47 93 43 69 52
Lars Myren, Interim CFO: lars@zwipe.com +47 90 94 36 60
Advisors
In connection with the Rights Issue, Zwipe has appointed Erik Penser Bank AB (publ) as book runner, and Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS as legal advisor.
For more information, please visit www.zwipe.com
Important information
The information in this press release does not constitute an offer to sell, acquire, subscribe for or otherwise trade in shares or other securities issued by Zwipe AS. No offer will be made in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is unlawful or where this would require registration, publication of a prospectus or similar action. Invitation to interested parties to subscribe for shares in Zwipe AS will only be made through the prospectus that Zwipe AS will publish.
There will be no public offer of shares in the United States. The new shares have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), or under the securities law of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be reoffered, resold, pledged or otherwise transferred, directly or indirectly, except (a) outside the United States in accordance with Rule 903 or Rule 904 of Regulation S, as applicable or (b) pursuant to Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act by executing and delivering a separate U.S. investor representation letter to the manager. A person in the United States or who is a “U.S. Person” (within the meaning of Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act), may not apply for Offer Shares or otherwise take steps in order to subscribe for or purchase Offer Shares unless the subscriber has confirmed to the manager that it is a "qualified institutional buyer" ("QIB") as defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act, acquiring the Offer Shares for investments purposes for its own account or for one or more accounts of another/other QIB(s), where it has investment discretion over such accounts in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements under the U.S. Securities Act by executing and delivering a U.S. investor representation letter to the manager. The Offer Shares are “restricted securities” within the meaning of Rule 144(a)(3) under the U.S. Securities Act and may not be deposited into any unrestricted depositary receipt facility in the United States, unless at the time of deposit the Offer Shares are no longer "restricted securities".
The information in this press release may not be released, published, reproduced or distributed in or to the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa or New Zealand or any other country or jurisdiction where such action is not permitted or where such action is subject to legal restrictions or would require further registration or other measures than what is required by Norwegian and / or Swedish law. Measures contrary to this instruction may constitute a breach of applicable securities legislation.
OSLO, NORWAY – 6 November 2019
Q3 2019 highlights and recent developments
During the third quarter Zwipe focused on extending its technology portfolio and network of partners covering the biometric payment card and wearables value chain:
Status update from the CEO
André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said ”Q3 2019 exceeded our expectations and we are happy with the major milestones we have completed over the last months. The announced collaboration with Idemia on a disruptive technology platform for biometric payments represents a defining moment for Zwipe. The new biometric payments platform will drastically reduce product and manufacturing costs by integrating into a single chip the functions that previously required a Secure Element, a Microcontroller, and more than thirty external components. This enables Zwipe to take a strong cost leadership position and gain competitive advantage as the industry moves towards large-scale volumes.
In parallel, we are forging ahead with our internal research and development activities and have expanded our intellectual property (IP) portfolio. In the period, our in-house IP development has progressed well. Zwipe now has 31 granted patents across 10 patent families in its IP portfolio, representing significant licensing revenue potential for the company going forward. Immediately after the closing of Q3, we announced the successful completion of a two-year development project: a working prototype of our Z5 chip which we plan to commercialize to stakeholders across the payments ecosystem, both as a stand-alone chip and as part of our biometric payment platform, the biometric inlay.
We have complemented our products with services. At the end of the quarter, Zwipe introduced the “Zwipe Experience” to its customers – a comprehensive program of products and services, enabling the card manufacturers to prepare for all aspects of launching biometric payment cards.
With product development taking positive strides, we have also continued expanding our network of customers. In Q3 we added Thailand-based card manufacturer dz card to our already substantial global customer network. Dz card plans to launch biometric payment solutions to address the emerging needs of customers in Thailand and across Southeast Asia, a region poised to see exponential growth in payment card adoption over the coming years.
Beyond dual-interface payment cards, we are pursuing complementary payment solutions where our technology represents a competitive advantage for our customers. During the quarter, we announced that we had been engaged by G+D Mobile Security, one of the world’s largest players within security solutions, to provide product design and prototyping for a wearable biometric payment device to be piloted by a leading bank.
With good momentum in these two emerging product verticals, we are confident that our focus on building relationships with our customers will play a major role in securing both short- and long-term success for the company. The new relationships diversify our customer base and extend our geographical presence, securing ties with regional leading card manufacturers and banks. Industry leaders in the biometric payment industry such as Idemia and G&D are firming up their roles, setting up commercial structures and investing in trial and production capacity. The fact that they select Zwipe as a key partner for their endeavours is a testament to our strong role in the value-chain.
It is exciting for us to see that our future potential is materializing in near-term commercial opportunities. Our initial sales of biometric card inlays, and customer-funded engineering efforts are opening doors for greater opportunities going forward. I am delighted to see that the steps we have taken are starting to bear fruit.”
Financials and Significant Events During Third Quarter 2019
Financial Status
During the third quarter Zwipe had revenues of MNOK 1.0 (0.9) representing sale of products for trial purposes as well as NRE invoiced to certain customers for specific developments. Accumulated revenues for the year amount to MNOK 1.3 (1.6).
Average monthly cash flow during Q3 2019 was MNOK -7.6 (-5.6), compared to MNOK -8.9 in the first half of 2019. The closing cash balance at end of Q3 was MNOK 51.0.
Subsequent event: Completed prototype Zwipe Z5 chip
After closing of the third quarter, Zwipe announced the successful prototype completion and power-on of its in-house developed “Z5” energy harvesting and power management integrated circuit (ASIC). The proprietary new chip is a significant milestone in component consolidation, cost reduction and efficiency improvement for Zwipe. Commercial samples are planned to be ready by mid-2020, by which time mass production can start. The Z5 chip will precede and subsequently complement the emerging biometric payment technology platform announced with Idemia.
OSLO, NORWAY – 14 OCTOBER 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe is pleased to announce the prototype manufacturing and successful power-on of its Z5 chip, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) developed by Zwipe and supported by proprietary energy harvesting IP.
The Zwipe Z5 consolidates components required for contactless energy harvesting and power management in one chip, reducing cost and improving the power efficiency and the manufacturability of embedded biometric solutions. This proprietary embedded chip will be a key commercial element for Zwipe’s biometric products for payment and beyond.
Commenting on this important breakthrough, André Løvestam CEO of Zwipe said, “this is an important milestone for the company, and a key part of Zwipe’s Generation NxT initiative focusing on cost reduction and supply-chain readiness to improve our competitiveness and facilitate our go-to-market and scale-up capacity. Over the coming months, Zwipe will complete verification and qualification. Commercial samples are planned for release mid-2020, at that stage mass production can start.”
The Zwipe Z5 chip will be sold as a single component and as part of Zwipe’s embedded system, the biometric inlay. Target customers are smart card and wearables manufacturers as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the emerging biometric payment market and in other verticals.
The development of this component is partially funded through a EUR 2.3 million (NOK 23 million) grant from the European Commission as part of Horizon 2020.
###
OSLO, NORWAY– 27 SEPTEMBER 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe has today delivered the first order of its second-generation biometric inlay to one of its card manufacturing customers. The order was for a few thousand units and generates revenue of approximately half a million NOK in the third quarter 2019.
“Zwipe’s biometric payment platform is the most widely live-tested solution in the marketplace and it has been progressively updated in terms of performance and cost. We are now starting to provide our second-generation biometric platform and inlay technology to our customers. We are supporting our customers toward achieving a mass-marketable roll-out of their biometric payment cards” says André Løvestam, CEO at Zwipe.
###
Courbevoie, FRANCE and Oslo, NORWAY – 19 September 2019 – IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity and one of the world’s largest biometric payment card manufacturers, and Zwipe, a leading biometric technology company, have signed an exclusive partnership and distribution agreement that sees the two companies co-investing in the development of a disruptive biometric payment card platform. The companies’ shared vision is to enable mass volume market take-off and long-term growth for biometric payment cards, by bringing to market a technology platform that will significantly reduce the complexity and cost of the design and production process for biometric payment cards, enabling an accelerated path to mass volumes which will ultimately benefit the issuers and users of cards.
This result is achieved by drastically reducing the number of components, integrating in a single chip the functions that previously required a Secure Element, a Microcontroller, and more than thirty external components, all mounted on a flexible PCB (Printed Circuit Board). Cards incorporating this new technology will be in the market in H2 2020, with high volume deployment starting in 2021.
Speaking on the agreement, Amanda Gourbault, Executive Vice-President for Financial institutions activities at IDEMIA, declared: “this is a strategic, high profile project for IDEMIA. We are very excited about what this platform will enable in terms of market growth and the penetration of biometric payment cards. IDEMIA is delighted to partner with Zwipe, a company with a solid intellectual property portfolio and an expanding global customer network; we are confident that our new solution will command a leading position in the marketplace.”
Zwipe will have worldwide exclusive rights to provide this solution to manufacturers of payment cards, wearables and other payment solutions, and their suppliers, when the product becomes available. IDEMIA has ownership of this technology and will sell F.CODE to its Financial Institutions customers. Once again, by bringing the best of its technology and vision, IDEMIA is driving the growth of the biometric cards market.
Commenting on this major development, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “we are excited and proud to enter a significant partnership with IDEMIA, a prominent global industry leader. The platform represents a technological leap that will serve as a catalyst to enable full biometric payment card costs to come down significantly, driving mass volume market growth and complementing our current and future product portfolios. We look forward to bringing this platform to our customers to continue to shape the biometric payments industry.”
###
OSLO, NORWAY– 17 SEPTEMBER 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe has been selected by Giesecke + Devrient (G+D) Mobile Security, one of the world’s largest mobile and digital security providers to develop a biometric payment device with a view to pilot this technology with leading banks.
Speaking on the partnership with Zwipe, Gabrielle Bugat, Group Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Financial Services at G+D Mobile Security, said “We have selected Zwipe because of their proven ability to integrate biometrics with payment functionalities into an extremely space and energy-constrained environment,” adding “we are confident that this joint effort will help establish new opportunities in the emerging biometric payments marketplace.”
Zwipe will provide the technical design and core components for integration into a wearable device with the digital security provider integrating the payment platform and personalising the product for use as a payment solution.
Commenting on this commercial effort, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “Our new customer, G+D is one of the world’s largest players in security solutions and we are excited to launch this collaboration.”
The joint development is commencing now, and the two parties plan to announce the start of any pilot when the product is ready for trials.
###
BANGKOK, THAILAND – 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe and dz card a global card solution provider and one of the largest card manufacturers in Southeast Asia, have signed a partnership to launch biometric payment solutions addressing the emerging needs of customers in Thailand and across Southeast Asia, as well as India and Africa.
Speaking on the engagement, Mr. Renaud ADAM – CEO of dz card said, “we have received requests from several large issuers seeking biometric payment cards and we are excited to partner with Zwipe, who is uniquely positioned to support our customers in introducing, optimizing and scaling up the issuance of this innovative product which makes contactless payment so much more secure.”
dz card will look to integrate Zwipe’s technology platform in bringing their biometric payment cards and other associated solutions to market, featuring Zwipe’s proprietary biometric payment platform and secure at-home enrolment offering.
Commenting on this latest customer acquisition André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said, “we are honored that dz card decided to join our growing customer base and we are confident that our unique and dedicated approach to support them in launching biometric payment cards will be a win for their customers, some of the largest financial institutions in Southeast Asia.”
###
OSLO, NORWAY – 3 September 2019- Biometric technology company Zwipe will explore a potential listing on Nasdaq Stockholm's First North Growth Market. The timing of such a listing remains to be evaluated.
Commenting on this development, CEO of Zwipe André Løvestam said “the past several months has seen major stakeholders in the emerging biometric payment market invest in preparations for commercialization of biometric payment cards and accompanying offerings. This vote of confidence and positive outlook has enabled several new strategic opportunities for Zwipe that are currently being pursued. On this basis, the Board of Directors has concluded an intent to list on Nasdaq Stockholm's First North Growth Market”, adding “listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market will take the company closer to the majority of its investors and open up a larger and more dynamic trading market for its shares.”
Please see Zwipe’s Interim Report January to June 2019 on the company’s website, www.zwipe.com for more information about the company’s status and outlook.
###
Oslo, Norway - 3 September 2019
Biometric technology company Zwipe today announces its Interim Report January to June 2019:
First Half Year
Significant events during the period
Significant events after the period
CEO comment
André Løvestam, Chief Executive Officer at Zwipe, said “Zwipe had significant progress during the first half of 2019. During the period we added five new card manufacturing customers across the world, significantly broadening our customer base. At the same time, multiple pilots with existing customers, banks and payment networks, have provided strong results and given us unique insights as we progress towards commercial adoption of our offerings.
Over the course of this summer, accredited third-party labs used for validation by the major payment networks have confirmed that Zwipe’s platform is comfortably surpassing the biometric performance, security and interoperability requirements for certification to be awarded to card manufacturers.
During the first half of 2019 multiple card manufacturers have started the capital-intensive process of launching biometric payment card specific manufacturing lines, semiconductor providers have begun the development of dedicated offerings for this emerging market, and the entire value chain supporting these processes has started moving more aggressively.
This vote of confidence of the future prospects in biometric payment cards and wearables has opened up several new strategic opportunities for Zwipe; opportunities that we are now pursuing at full speed.
Based on this confirmation of Zwipe’s value proposition and long-term prospects, the Board of Directors has concluded an intent to list on Nasdaq Stockholm's First North Growth Market, thereby further accelerating and supporting the company's development.
I am confident that Zwipe is well positioned to unlock the exciting opportunities coming our way and I am looking forward to the next phase of our journey.”
Please find the full report attached or on the company’s website www.zwipe.com.
###
