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OSLO, NORWAY – 16 September 2022 – Zwipe, a leading biometric fintech company, is delighted to announce that Mr. Jens Hansen has started as Vice President, Head of Customer Success. Jens' focus will be to scale up and speed up the deployment of Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access customer projects and commercial launches, ensuring excellent end-to-end deliveries to customers and partners across the value chain.  


Jens joins Zwipe from his position as the Head of Commercial, Technology & Data at eBay (Italy), where he worked for over six years in different leadership positions. Prior to that he worked for over 10 years at Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-Ericsson leading the deployment of mobile platform products to a wide range of tier-1 mobile phone manufacturers.

“In Zwipe’s H1 2022 presentation last month I had mentioned that our top priority is now to scale up and speed up commercial launches, both on Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access with top quality and professionalism. Jens is joining us at a crucial time when we are scaling our business and platform deployment globally. Jens’ wealth of experience in leading many customer delivery projects across various high-tech sectors will be a great asset,” says Robert Puskaric, President & CEO of Zwipe.


Jens will be a member of Zwipe’s leadership team and report to Robert.


“I am very excited to join Zwipe’s exciting mission to bring the next generation contactless experience globally- to financial institutions, fintechs and enterprises. We see a strong global demand for solutions that enable touch-less user experience and strong security. This is where biometrics play a key role. I look forward to being a part of the team at Zwipe and delivering these innovations with customer success as our main priority”, said Jens Hansen, Vice President, Head of Customer Success.

For further information please contact Robert Puskaric, President and CEO, +46 70 519 34 07 info@zwipe.com

About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries & cultures to make convenience safe & secure.  We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for both payment and physical & logical access control and ID solutions.  We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services.  Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  

To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com

OSLO, NORWAY – 13 September 2022 – The share capital increase of 10,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 29 August 2022, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,755,168.50, and the new number of shares and votes is 37,551,685.

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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act 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 14:15 on 13 September 2022.

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

OSLO, NORWAY – 8 September 2022 – The share capital increase of 25,000 new shares in Zwipe AS, as resolved by the board meeting of the company on 27 June 2022, has today been registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. The new share capital is NOK 3,754,168.50, and the new number of shares and votes is 37,541,685.

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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 07:00 on 8 September 2022.

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

OSLO, NORWAY – 25 August 2022 – Zwipe AS, a leading provider of biometric payment card solutions, is proud to announce that it has obtained the Component Conformity Statement  (“CCS”) certificate from Mastercard for the Zwipe Pay platform, the most advanced and integrated biometric card solution available to all Smart Card Manufacturers (“SCMs”) in the market today.

This CCS certificate enables Zwipe’s customers, the SCMs, to leverage Zwipe’s certification results to obtain a Letter of Approval ( “LoA”) from Mastercard for their own biometric payment cards built on the Zwipe Pay platform.

Zwipe successfully passed all tests required to obtain the Mastercard CCS certificate. This certification confirms that the Zwipe Pay biometric payment card platform meets all the security, reliability, functionality, and performance standards required by Mastercard.  Zwipe’s complete end-to-end biometric payment card platform is now ready for full adoption by SCMs to produce Mastercard cards.

Issuers can now work with their SCMs to develop and launch biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay, and leverage Mastercard’s global network to deliver Mastercard biometric payment cards throughout the world. Issuers will have the opportunity to create differentiation, accelerate customer acquisition, uplift loyalty and create new revenue streams. Consumers will benefit from more convenient, safe, and secure ways to pay.

“Having the Zwipe Pay platform certified by Mastercard is a significant milestone and major step forward for Zwipe and our customers. This development will further accelerate issuer pilots and planned launches based on Mastercard’s network. The pathway is now open for Smart Card Manufacturers and issuers all over the world to certify, produce and deploy Mastercard biometric cards based on Zwipe Pay,” said Robert Puskaric, CEO of Zwipe.


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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 11.15 on 25 August 2022.



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:


+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

This CCS certificate enables Zwipe’s customers, the SCMs, to leverage Zwipe’s certification results to obtain a Letter of Approval ( “LoA”) from Mastercard for their own biometric payment cards built on the Zwipe Pay platform.

Zwipe successfully passed all tests required to obtain the Mastercard CCS certificate. This certification confirms that the Zwipe Pay biometric payment card platform meets all the security, reliability, functionality, and performance standards required by Mastercard.  Zwipe’s complete end-to-end biometric payment card platform is now ready for full adoption by SCMs to produce Mastercard cards.

Issuers can now work with their SCMs to develop and launch biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay, and leverage Mastercard’s global network to deliver Mastercard biometric payment cards throughout the world. Issuers will have the opportunity to create differentiation, accelerate customer acquisition, uplift loyalty and create new revenue streams.

Consumers will benefit from more convenient, safe, and secure ways to pay.

“Having the Zwipe Pay platform certified by Mastercard is a significant milestone and major step forward for Zwipe and our customers. This development will further accelerate issuer pilots and planned launches based on Mastercard’s network. The pathway is now open for Smart Card Manufacturers and issuers all over the world to certify, produce and deploy Mastercard biometric cards based on Zwipe Pay,” said Robert Puskaric, CEO of Zwipe.

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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 11.15 on 25 August 2022.

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

OSLO, NORWAY – 24 August 2022 – KAD Group AS, a company 100% owned by the CFO of Zwipe AS, Danielle Glenn, has today acquired 12,000 shares in Zwipe AS. After this transaction, KAD Group AS holds 12,000 shares in Zwipe AS.

The shares were acquired on Euronext Growth Oslo at a price of 8.30.

Attached is a copy of the form submitted to the Norwegian FSA, Finanstilsynet, reporting the transaction as listed above.

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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12:15 on 27 June 2022.

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

OSLO, NORWAY – 23 August 2022 – Zwipe AS ("Zwipe" or "the company") today announces its results for the first half 2022.


Operational highlights

  • Visa certifies Zwipe Pay Biometric Payment Card (“BPC”) Platform and issues Letter of Approval (“LoA”) to Zwipe.
  • Beautiful Card Corporation (“BCC”), TAG Systems and Inkript obtain Visa LoAs for their own card built on the Zwipe Pay platform.
  • Fraport AG, providing operational services to 31 airports globally, selected Zwipe Access as one of two solutions to test in a pilot of next generation access control solutions at Frankfurt Airport.
  • Zwipe Access platform was successfully integrated with LEGIC and HID solutions to provide seamless end-to-end biometric card-based access control security to enterprises and facilities.
  • Seven new issuers across Germany, India, the Middle East and Africa signed up with Zwipe to launch pilots.
  • Placard, the largest payment smart card supplier in Australia and New Zealand, selected the Zwipe Pay platform for delivering biometric payment cards to banks in the region.
  • Significant organizational development with Robert Puskaric joining as the new CEO in June, Danielle Glenn as the new CFO in May and Patrice Meilland as the new Chief Strategy and Product Officer in April.

 

Financial highlights

 

Review

In H1 2022, we signed seven new issuers for Zwipe Pay, from Germany to India and across the Middle East. All of them are planning pilots with our card manufacturing partners, although we have learned that pilot preparation is taking longer than previously expected. We also expanded our global delivery capabilities and market reach by signing one major SCM and onboarding two leading personalization solution providers as go-to-market (“GTM”) partners.

Zwipe is pursuing an “execution first” approach focusing on launching announced pilots. In total, seven issuer pilots are progressing with good pace and according to issuer plans. Additional pilot launches are expected in the coming quarters, with launch dates entirely dependent on issuer decisions. We are also focused on “execution first” with our SCM customers – getting all certified and ready for mass volume production. While these remain our top priorities, Zwipe continues expanding our customer and issuer pipeline – critical to our medium-term success.

In March, Zwipe completed the certification process with Visa and obtained the Visa LoA. This certification marks a major milestone towards commercialization of Zwipe Pay and was followed by Visa LoAs obtained by lead customers BCC, TAG Systems and Inkript. This list is expected to grow significantly going forward. Zwipe has successfully completed additional testing with third party laboratories that should ease additional payment scheme certifications.

It is undeniable that market takeoff of biometric payment cards has been slower than envisioned. BPC volumes deployed are expected to remain fairly low into 2023, before growing exponentially thereafter.  Zwipe is not immune to the delayed market takeoff, but our customers and partners remain committed to launching pilots and commercial propositions, even if somewhat later than originally planned. Furthermore, consumer demand for BPCs remains strong with 82% of individuals surveyed by Zwipe saying that they want their next card to be biometric and 60% saying they would consider switching to banks who offer biometric cards. Importantly, most third-party research continues to point to BPCs accounting for 15-20% of total EMV units shipped by 2030 (estimated at 3-4 billion units), highlighting just how large the market potential remains.

For Zwipe Access, we now have a healthy and growing list of opportunities within the data center and airport verticals as well as other security sensitive customer segments. The growing number of requests for Zwipe Access solutions is driven by increasing demand for stronger data privacy, higher security and better user experience. Indeed, Zwipe was recognized by Fraport, operating 31 international airports globally, as a potential provider for next generation security solutions at their airports.  Fraport’s initial trials have now been completed and they are evaluating possible next steps.

There were substantial changes in the executive management team at Zwipe during the first half, with three of the six-member C-suite newly joining the company – strengthening leadership, bringing industry expertise and positioning Zwipe well for the future.

 

Financial review

Zwipe reported total revenues of 0.8 mNOK during H1 2022 versus 1.4 mNOK in H1 2021. On an adjusted basis, total operating expenses increased by 13.3 mNOK to 48.4 mNOK in H1 2022 versus H1 2021.  The majority of this increase was due to personnel expenses, which increased by 9.1 mNOK to 25.9 mNOK in H1 2022 versus H1 2021. Of the 9.1 mNOK, 5.5 mNOK were one-off costs related to former executives leaving the company. The remaining increase in personnel expense is largely due to an increase in headcount by 13 people to meet the strong demand for the company’s solutions and to prepare for piloting and deployment of our card payment solutions and services.

Zwipe’s cash position remains strong, with cash and cash equivalents at 109.7 mNOK on 30 June 2022.

Total equity as of 30 June 2022 was 108.8 mNOK resulting in an equity ratio of 89%, roughly stable versus the position at the end of the first half of 2021.

 

The way forward

Zwipe is progressing well in many important areas even if the market for biometric payment cards is developing at a slower pace than expected. Operating expenses and headcount are not expected to increase substantially in H2 vs H1 2022 nor at the pace expected at the start of the year. Zwipe will, however, continue to invest intelligently – particularly in its people and technology.

For Zwipe Pay, second half priorities will center on pilot deployment with issuers, assisting SCMs in becoming mass production and delivery ready, and continuing to expand our customer and issuer pipeline.  Further developing the dedicated customer project management function and standardized blueprint to improve pilot execution will be a key focus during H2 2022.

Going forward, Zwipe Access is expected to contribute a larger part of revenue than previously assumed.  The pipeline for Zwipe Access is healthy and growing with prospects within the data center and airport verticals as well as other security sensitive customer segments.

 

Results presentation

CEO Robert Puskaric and CFO Danielle Glenn will present the H1 2022 results by webcast tomorrow, Wednesday August 24th, at 09:00 CEST.

 

Webcast details

Format: Webcast, Conference Call and Q&A

Language: English

Link: https://q4-emea.wavecast.io/zwipe-as/h1-2022-operational-update

Dial-in numbers:

 

Participants will be required to register to view the webcast and participate in the Q&A

 

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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12:15 on 27 June 2022.

   

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

 

For more information, please contact:


+47 909 98 201

danielle@zwipe.com

Webcast details

Date: 24 August 2022

Time: 09:00 CEST

Format: Webcast, Conference Call and Q&A

Language: English

Link: https://q4-emea.wavecast.io/zwipe-as/h1-2022-operational-update
 

Participants will be required to register to view the webcast and participate in the Q&A

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in Regulation EU 596/2014 article 19 number 3 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12:15 on 27 June 2022.

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

OSLO, NORWAY – 27 June 2022 – The board of directors of Zwipe AS ("Zwipe" or the "Company") has today resolved an increase in the share capital of the Company in the amount of NOK 2,500 through the issuance of 25,000 new shares in the Company, each at a strike price of NOK 10.00. The new shares were issued under the Company's stock option incentive program.

Primary insider Eric Mercer, COO of Zwipe AS, exercised 20,000 stock options. After completion of the transaction, Eric Mercer will hold 25,500 shares and 200,000 stock options in the Company. The remaining 5,000 stock options were exercised by an employee of the Company not being a primary insider.

All the exercised options have been granted in accordance with the Company's stock option incentive program described in the Company's latest annual financial statement.

Attached is a copy of the form submitted to the Norwegian FSA, Finanstilsynet, reporting the primary insider transaction 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 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, +46 (0) 8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 12:15 CEST on 27 June 2022.

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About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer future. We work with great passion across networks of international organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We are pioneering next-generation biometric card and wearables technology for payment and physical & logical access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR
+47 909 98 201
danielle@zwipe.com

Media Inquiries

Patrice Meilland,
,
Chief Commercial Officer
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OSLO, NORWAY– 25 JUNE 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe has entered into a partnership with XH Smart, a global smart card manufacturer, focused on commercializing end to end biometric payment offerings to XH Smart customers in China and beyond.

XH Smart is a global solutions provider offering end-to-end digital security solutions to banks and telecom operators in more than 70 countries across the world.  A fully accredited Visa, Mastercard and China UnionPay card manufacturer, the company has grown rapidly since its founding in 2011, becoming a global player in the payment card marketplace, marked by several large industry acquisitions both inside and outside of China. In 2018 the company manufactured in excess of 44 million payment cards.

Speaking on the agreement with Zwipe, Mr Eehou Lim, XH Smart Group SVP, said “We are convinced that biometric payment cards is becoming one of the new standards in payments going forward and that is why we have partnered with Zwipe, the only company that can assist us in offering an end to end solution to our customers.  We are confident that we have the right pieces in place to seize this exciting opportunity.”

Zwipe’s end to end offering buoyed by its strong intellectual property portfolio provides card manufacturers physical components and manufacturing support. Additionally, the comprehensive package covers advisory services that will enable card manufacturers to provide a more complete offering to banks and issuers, by directly supporting product integration, customer enrolment and onboarding on multiple platforms.

Commenting on this partnership, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “We are excited to partner with XH Smart and to contribute to their capacity to deliver not just an innovative new product but a complete experience to their discerning customers, driven by our shared commitment to making convenience secure.”

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Munich, Germany, and Oslo, Norway – 18 June 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe and the world’s leading provider of semiconductor solutions in the payments market, Infineon Technologies AG, have extended their non-exclusive partnership through a long-term agreement. This settlement outlines both technical and commercial collaboration between the two companies. The two parties will co-define and develop advanced system-on-chip solutions and related system designs for mass deployment of biometric smart devices, including payment cards and wearables.

Tap and go payments with biometric cards are gaining considerable market traction as they significantly improve the user experience without compromising on security, supporting the strong customer authentication (SCA) requirements demanded by the second Payment Service Directive (PSD2) in Europe.

Zwipe and Infineon have a long-standing relationship. Infineon’s Secure Element is currently deployed in all pilot projects featuring Zwipe’s biometric payment platform, currently supporting multiple leading payment networks run by 12 major banks in various countries across Europe and the Middle East. Card manufacturers plan to certify fully biometric payment cards and make them commercially available this year.

Commenting on this partnership, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said “We are proud to strengthen our long-standing partnership with a global technology leader such as Infineon. This collaboration further enhances our ability to commercialize our technology and IP through competitive solutions for mass-volume deployment.”

Bjoern Scharfen, Head of Payment & Wearables at Infineon had the following to say: “Our collaboration and joint offering with Zwipe is a key accelerator of mass deployment in the biometric payment market.”

Working together, the two technology companies will seek to develop advanced integrated solutions optimized to the volume requirements of biometric dual-interface payment cards. The platforms being developed combine simplified card design with reduced bills of material.

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*Secure Element (SE) is a microprocessor chip which can store sensitive data and run secure apps such as payment. It acts as a vault, protecting the information inside the SE (applications and data) against malware attacks that can be typical launched against the host (i.e. device operating system).

 

OSLO, NORWAY– 3 JUNE 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe and Goldpac, China’s largest secure payment solution provider are partnering to launch biometric payment cards, enrolment offerings and related services to Goldpac’s extensive customer network, including some of the largest financial organizations in the world.

Goldpac is fully certified by VISA, MasterCard, China Union Pay, American Express, JCB and Diners. As one of the top payment card producers in the world and the largest in the Asia Pacific region, Goldpac supplies payment smartcard chips, instant issuance card kiosks and card personalization /issuance solutions.

Speaking on this partnership, Oliver Hui, Senior Vice President of Goldpac Group, said “At Goldpac, we focus on supplying our customers with state-of-the-art fintech solutions that help them succeed in today’s dynamic payment ecosystem, and doing so innovatively and securely.  Biometric cards enable our card issuance customers to in turn provide their end users with cards that are secure and convenient to use, such as for payments or for identification, and we are excited to work with Zwipe to qualify and then introduce their biometric technology to our customer base, in the process providing a winning solution to our customers.”

The complete collaboration will include licensing of Zwipe intellectual property, technical integration of Zwipe components and hardware, adoption of Zwipe’s suite of enrolment solutions and advisory services, targeting biometric payment card pilots with various issuers before the end of 2019.

Commenting on this milestone agreement, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “ Goldpac is one of the largest, and fastest growing innovators in the global payment card market and we are excited to support their efforts in commercializing biometric payment solutions globally.”

 

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OSLO, NORWAY – 3 JUNE 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe today announced that Lisbeth Breum has notified the company that she is resigning from her position as chief financial officer effective 31 August 2019 to assume a CFO role in a company unrelated to biometrics, smart cards or payments.

“On behalf of the Zwipe team, I want to thank Lisbeth for her contributions during formative years for Zwipe. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors,” said André Løvestam, Zwipe CEO.  The company is in the process of finding a new CFO and will announce this when concluded. “We have added new capacities to both our technology and operations teams during the last year. The new CFO will join a team built to drive the next part of our journey towards international commercialization of Zwipe’s leading solutions”, Løvestam added.

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OSLO, NORWAY- 14 May 2019 - The Annual General Meeting in Zwipe was held today. Enclosed are the Minutes of Meeting from the Annual General Meeting.

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BEIRUT, LEBANON – 09 MAY 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe and Inkript, a digital security provider and a subsidiary of Resource Group, have partnered to launch biometric payment cards.

Inkript’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are certified by Visa and Mastercard for EMV cards production. The company caters for customers across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, and has shipped over 70 million smartcards in 2018, making it one of the largest card manufacturers in the region.

Speaking of this partnership, Hisham Itani, Chairman and CEO of Resource Group said “we are pleased to launch our partnership with Zwipe to cater to the growing demand of secure banking cards in the region. Biometric payment cards add a valuable layer for secure payments and banks are keen to have this innovative product. He added “Our partnership with Zwipe, a proven technology leader in this emerging market, is introducing a cutting-edge biometric solution to financial institutions in the region and we are happy to be among the first movers.”

Zwipe and Inkript will collaborate technically and commercially to bring biometric payment cards to market. Several banks have expressed interest to pilot the offering, with the first pilots expected to launch before the end of 2019.

Commenting on this important partnership, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “we are excited to partner with Inkript to introduce and deploy our technology with their customers. Based on the positive feedback from the successful pilots in the region, we are confident that the market is primed for growth.”

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OSLO, NORWAY- 23 April 2019 - The board of directors of Zwipe AS (the “Company”) calls for the annual

general meeting to be held at the premises of Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS at Filipstad Brygge 1, 0252 Oslo, Norway on 14 May 2019 at 13:00 CET.

Please find enclosed the notice of the annual general meeting. The notice and the Company’s annual report for 2018 is available on the Company’s website www.zwipe.com.

Notice of attendance, in person or by proxy, shall be given no later than 13 May 2019 at 16:00 CET. Shareholders are encouraged to register this electronically through the company’s website www.zwipe.com. Alternatively, the attached form may be sent by e-mail to genf@dnb.no, or regular post to DNB Bank ASA, Verdipapirservice, NO-0021 Oslo.

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Q1 2019 highlights and recent developments

  • Continued focus on securing a leading position within biometric payment cards through partnerships with stakeholders covering the biometric payment card value chain, including card manufacturers, global payment schemes, issuers and financial institutions
  • Participation in the majority of ongoing biometric payment card pilots in collaboration with partners in Europe and the Middle East
  • New partnerships secured in Europe and Latin America, expanding technology reach and commercialisation potential within biometric payment card market
  • NOK 120 million capital raise and subsequent admission to trading on Oslo Stock Exchange’s Merkur Market completed in January 2019
  • Organizational development with new CTO and opening of a European Tech Hub based out of Munich, Germany

Status and outlook

  • Zwipe is at the forefront of a global shift towards more secure and convenient contactless payments and the market is primed for growth. The company’s ambition is that Zwipe’s industry leading technology and partnerships will secure a strong market position.
  • On 21 January 2019, Zwipe announced the successful completion of a NOK 120 million capital raise from an offering of new shares.  The offering was substantially over-subscribed, attracting strong interest from institutional and professional investors as well as retail investors in Sweden and Norway. The capital raise was conducted to strengthen the company’s financial position and fund the further development and commercialization of the company's technology. On 28 January 2019, Zwipe was admitted to trading on Oslo Stock Exchange’s Merkur Market under the ticker symbol ZWIPE-ME. These were important milestones for Zwipe, as the company seeks to capitalise on its first mover position in the biometric payment marketplace and as the payment industry moves towards bringing biometric payment cards to consumers.
  • Payment card pilots remain an integral part of Zwipe’s go-to-market strategy and a vehicle to verify and showcase Zwipe’s competitive position. Zwipe’s technology was featured in 12 out of 17 biometric payment card pilots announced during 2018, with positive preliminary feedback from pilot stakeholders. There are currently 11 biometric payment card pilots featuring Zwipe’s technology: Intesa Sanpaolo pilot in Italy with Gemalto and Mastercard; and pilots with 10 banks across the Middle East with Areeba, Gemalto and Visa.
  • As the market for biometric payment cards matures, new and existing players are scaling up their operations in anticipation of large-scale commercialization of biometric payment cards. Zwipe regards this trend as positive because it accelerates market development and opens a host of new opportunities for Zwipe. Furthermore, Zwipe believes that the availability of multiple credible suppliers is a prerequisite for the market to take off.
  • Zwipe partnered with TAG Systems to target European-based challenger banks that are expected to be among the first movers in the market for biometric payment cards. Zwipe also partnered with Thomas Greg & Son do Brasil, one of Latin America’s largest card manufacturers, to co-develop and launch biometric payment cards in the Latin American markets.
  • Late February, VP Program and Supply Chain Management, Eric Mercer, was appointed CEO of Zwipe America Inc and part of Zwipe’s management team.
  • In April, Zwipe announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Mueller as its Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Mueller joins Zwipe with over 20 years’ experience in senior technical development positions focusing on biometrics and smart card technology at leading companies such as Siemens, Giesecke+Devrient and BMW. His most recent role was serving as Chief Technology Officer at Next Biometrics.
  • Zwipe also established a European tech hub, which will complement the company’s existing research and development center in Colorado Springs, USA. Based out of Munich, the new hub will add further expertise to Zwipe on biometrics, algorithms, payment card integration, enrolment solutions and product management.
  • A new solution for the JavaCard-based operating system was announced in April, further broadening the company’s scope in meeting various customer preferences and needs in the biometric payment card marketplace. With a broader product portfolio, Zwipe is uniquely positioned to be able to offer products that address both Multos and Java.  
  • A pilot featuring Zwipe’s at-home enrolment for the first time is planned to start late Q2 2019. Ensuring simple, effective consumer enrolment and activation of biometric payment cards will be key to driving commercialization.
  • Zwipe contributed to the Wearable Summit at World Mobile Congress in March, arranged by Zwipe partner Tappy Tech, highlighting that Zwipe also aims to develop a range of solutions for banks, including biometric wearables and digital services (card not present).
  • Zwipe’s revenues in Q1 2019 were negligible. Average monthly operational cash burn throughout Q1 2019 was NOK 5.3m for a total in Q1 2019 of NOK 15.9m, primarily related to personnel expenses and IP protection. Total cash burn in the quarter, including extraordinary expenses related to fundraising activities and debt repayment, was NOK 46.4m. Total cash balance as at 31.03.2019 was NOK 82.8m.
  • In April, Zwipe received NOK 10m out of a total NOK 23m grant awarded through EU’s Horizon 2020 program. Another NOK ~1.5m is expected to be paid out in 2019, with the residual expected to be paid out in 2020. Zwipe expects to receive a NOK 5m grant from the Norwegian government in Q4 2019 as a result of the approval of Zwipe’s grant application (“Skattefunn”) in Q4 2018.
  • Monthly operational cash burn is expected to increase going forward as Zwipe continues to execute on its Generation NxT program, developing its organization and supply chain in preparation for biometric payment card commercialization. Zwipe expects to remain fully funded through 2019 and into 2020.

André Løvestam, Chief Executive Officer at Zwipe, said:

“Throughout the first quarter, we have continued to execute on our Generation NxT program, focusing on technological and supply chain advancements and cost reductions, making sure we have a competitive offering available as the industry is moving forward towards making biometric payment cards an offering to paying consumers. We have also made progress in ongoing pilots and continuously gained valuable feedback, enabling us to develop our products’ performance and functionality to even better meet the needs of the marketplace. We remain dedicated to ensuring continuous organizational improvements, which will be a vital differentiating factor as we move towards the large-scale, commercial adoption of biometric payment technology.

A strong and diverse partner ecosystem will also be increasingly important going forward. We see a trend that stakeholders across the value chain are branching out to multiple partners to reduce dependency on single partners or technologies, and we expect banks, payment networks and card manufacturers alike to secure at least dual-sourcing of their solutions for continuity of supply and general risk mitigation.

The feedback we have received and the experiences we have gained as supplier of inlays to the absolute majority of battery-less contactless biometric payment cards pilots to date, as well as the improvements we have achieved in both improving performance and reducing manufacturing cost for our Generation NxT-based inlay, which is our solution for the certification process and the anticipated subsequent roll-out of commercial biometric payment cards, make us confident that we remain well-placed to be a leading supplier of inlays in this phase.

Throughout the first quarter, we continued to strengthen our market position by building new important strategic partnerships, supporting our long-term ambition of catering to the unique needs of different regions.

The scale and scope of the opportunity we face is continually confirmed with increasing interest from stakeholders globally and we remain confident in Zwipe’s strong position in the biometric payment card value chain as we continue on our mission of making convenience secure.”

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OSLO, NORWAY – 16 APRIL 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe announces a proprietary JavaCard operating system (OS) solution compatible with multiple global payment network applets. The solution is integrated with Zwipe’s biometric engine and is relevant for biometric payment cards, wearables and other ultra-low power payment and biometric applications.

In the biometric payment card marketplace, the primary operating systems in use are Multos and Java. Speaking on the JavaCard OS solutions development, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said “With this announcement, Zwipe is uniquely positioned to be able to offer products that address both Multos and Java, further broadening the company’s scope in meeting various customer preferences and needs in the biometric payment card marketplace” adding “several of our already announced partners will use our JavaCard enabled biometric payment solution and we have received interest from multiple other card manufacturers to integrate it into their payment card offerings”.

Zwipe’s biometric payment platform features the company’s biometric engine and power management systems located on a flexible inlay which is integrated inside a traditional payment card by card manufacturing partners. This platform is seamlessly integrated with JavaCard OS and multiple payment applets found on the card’s secure element. 

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Media Inquiries

Patrice Meilland,
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Chief Commercial Officer