OSLO, NORWAY– 6 JULY 2020 – It has been a busy and momentous last few months in the world of biometric payments. I am pleased to see how our partners and customers are strengthening their capacity to deliver next generation contactless payment solutions powered by biometric payments platforms from Zwipe. We observe first-hand an increasing awareness and interest from banks, local card schemes and even retailers that are sharing the view that biometric payments provide significant value to consumers.
What is happening in the marketplace?
Several “1st generation” biometric payment card platforms are now making their way towards the first small-scale commercial launches in 2020. These recent developments clearly signal that this technology will see commercial break-through, representing not only a means for banks to offer “peace of mind” to cardholders and achieve top-of-wallet effects, but also to realize a new source of revenue and value creation.
For fully understandable reasons, the payments ecosystem is by and large conservative, cost conscious and risk averse. This is why the biometric payments market has been long in the making.
Things are now changing, however. At an accelerating pace. Observing how the engagement and proactivity of our partners and the ecosystem are currently growing, I see clear indications that momentum is building, with awareness and interest increasing everywhere.
The team at Zwipe and myself are very excited by this progress.
Here is an overview of our recent major announcements:
It is all coming together
On the supply side, technology advancement, radical cost reduction and scalable production readiness are factors that make biometric payment a feasible proposition. On the demand side, COVID-19 has triggered growing demand and awareness for safe and hygienic payments in the entire society, with transaction limits raised in more than 40 countries worldwide to avoid unnecessary PIN entry and contactless payment rapidly growing everywhere. This builds on the already strong consumer interest for biometric payments before COVID-19, driven by the demand for convenience, security and the “coolness factor” derived from innovative solutions.
Our Zwipe Pay ONE platform is progressing as planned to deliver superior energy efficiency and excellent biometric performance at significantly lowered manufacturing cost thanks to advanced, single-chip innovation. Our confidence that this will be a very compelling proposition has grown further based on the series of recent awards given by smart card manufacturers for Zwipe Pay ONE to power their upcoming biometric payment cards.
Zwipe has pioneered biometric payment card technology and we now see commercial opportunities and engagements developing across the payment ecosystems. We see growing interest from smart card manufacturers, banks, payment schemes and retailers to see how Zwipe can help them to address consumer needs and concerns over contactless payments.
What Zwipe does goes far beyond the technology, it is about helping every stakeholder maximize the value that biometric payments can bring to society. As communicated in our PR on 2 June, we are complementing our collaboration with our direct customers, the smart card manufacturers, by actively stepping up our engagements with banks and neo-banks, as well as new players in card issuance, such as retailers and tech companies. I feel confident that this will accelerate our route to success while creating value for our customers, shareholders, and consumers.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank each member of my great team at Zwipe for their relentless efforts in Making Convenience Safe and Secure. On behalf of everyone at Zwipe, I wish all our customers, partners, shareholders and avid followers a safe and happy summer.
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BOLOGNA, ITALY and OSLO, NORWAY– 1 July 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Publicenter, Italy’s largest domestic smart card manufacturer, are pleased to announce the launch of a collaboration aimed at bringing the next generation contactless experience, powered by biometric payment cards and wearables to financial institutions and consumers across Europe.
Publicenter is a VISA and Mastercard certified smart card manufacturer, with over forty years of experience in card production and personalization. It delivers payment, loyalty and gift cards to major banking and retail customers in Italy and Europe.
“We have seen firsthand the potential of biometric payment cards and successful market trials in Italy, run on the Zwipe platform. With many of our customers asking for this product, we are confident that the partnership with Zwipe will be the most cost effective and time efficient route for us to offer this solution at scale” says CEO of Publicenter, Sandro Mucelli.
In Italy, 50% of all POS transactions processed were already contactless* pre-COVID 2019, and, as a result of increased transaction limits and an elevated focus on safety, this has grown since. With businesses beginning to open again, Publicenter plans to engage with customers to promote the value-add of biometric payment solutions.
“We are excited to work with Publicenter who have strong engagements with banks and retailers across Europe, including in our own home region of the Nordics. Working together, we will identify new commercial opportunities for both companies and implement a successful roll-out of Zwipe Pay ONE,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
*) Source: Europe; Spaargids.be; July 2018; Numbers concern payments processed by MasterCard
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About Publicenter
Publicenter has over forty years’ experience in high quality and cost-effective smart card production and personalization, being one of the leading card manufacturers in Europe. Main products are financial smart cards, loyalty/gift cards, and ID cards. Headquartered in Bologna, Italy, Publicenter is a Visa and Mastercard certified vendor for over 15 years. To learn more, visit www.publicenter.it
For more information contact: Sandro Mucelli, CEO, info@publicenter.it
OSLO, NORWAY – 29 June 2020 – Biometric fintech pioneer Zwipe and Thomas Greg and Sons do Brasil (TGS), one the largest smart card manufacturers in Latin America, are pleased to announce the extension of their exclusive partnership.
As part of uplifting the collaboration, TGS is commencing small scale manufacturing of biometric payment cards based on Zwipe’s platform, embracing the road to Zwipe Pay ONE and aiming to gradually ramp up production to address the ongoing market demand for safer and more secure contactless payments.
Since announcing the partnership in April 2019, the two companies have been working closely to fine-tune the technical aspects of the solution and evaluate the market appetite for biometric payments.
“We are now seeing increasing interest in biometric payment cards in our region, especially as consumers become much more familiar with contactless payments and demand safer and more hygienic payment alternatives in store. We have worked closely to adapt our manufacturing processes to integrate Zwipe’s biometric solution in our card production and we are excited to take this partnership to the next level,” says Mr. Hernani Finazzi, CEO of TGS.
“Latin America is a fast-emerging region when it comes to payment card usage. We are extremely glad TGS is taking a key step to embrace the Zwipe platform and bring our collaboration to a new level. We look forward to jointly addressing the needs of banks and consumers in Latin America going forward,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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About Thomas Greg & Sons do Brasil
The group Thomas Greg & Sons established in Brazil in 2000 to serve the Brazilian security printing market. In its 20 years of operation, the company has consolidated as one of the largest companies in the segments of Security Prints, Solutions, Smart Cards, Identification Systems and Traceability. Currently, the group is present in thirteen countries, with more than 10,000 employees. In Brazil, it has a branch in eleven states providing the national driver's license, identity card with automated biometric identification system, vehicle ownership document, traceability stamps, diplomas, electoral system, smart cards, among others.
To learn more, visit www.thomasgreg.com.br
Media Contact for Thomas Greg & Sons do Brasil: Hernani Finazzi, CEO +55 11 2666 8821, vendas@thomasgreg.com.br
OSLO, NORWAY– 18 JUNE 2020 – Biometric fintech company Zwipe and Watchdata Technologies, a pioneer in digital authentication and transaction security, have partnered to develop and launch next generation contactless payment cards and wearables and bring these innovations to banks in multiple regions.
Watchdata Technologies is a Beijing based Chinese company, with Singapore as its international headquarters. It is serving 80 million banking customers in over 70 countries, the company has extensive operations in China, France, Russia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Mexico. Watchdata offers a wide range of payment products and services and is a VISA, Mastercard, China UnionPay certified manufacturer.
“Partnering with Zwipe to develop the next generation contactless experience aligns strongly with our mission of continuous innovation. Biometric capabilities uniquely combine convenience with security and safety, uplifting card payments’ experience to completely new levels. Integrating Zwipe Pay ONE into our smart card program will be key to competing and securing future business in this fast-emerging segment.” says Nicole Guo, Product Manager of Watchdata.
Zwipe will deliver key components and technical guidance as part of the agreement starting with biometric card payments.
Speaking on the partnership André Løvestam, CEO at Zwipe says “In China faster checkout in retail is cited as the number 1 priority for consumers. We are proud to partner with Watchdata, a fast-moving, innovative and global organization representing significant volume potential in many countries globally for the Zwipe Pay ONE platform. Together, we will develop and roll-out the next generation contactless experience through cards and wearables, addressing the security, safety and privacy needs of consumers worldwide.”
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About Watchdata Technologies
Watchdata Technologies is a recognized pioneer in digital authentication and transaction security. Founded in Beijing in 1994, Watchdata now have international headquarters in Singapore, 8 regional offices, and serve customers in over 70 countries. Watchdata customers include mobile network operators, financial institutions, transport operators, governments and leading business enterprises. Solutions from Watchdata provide daily convenience and security to over 1 billion mobile subscribers, 80 million e-banking customers and 50 million commuters. To learn more, visit www.watchdata.com
OSLO, NORWAY – 8 June 2020 – Zwipe is pleased to announce a new milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited (TFCT), a leading smart card manufacturer based in Hong Kong.
TFCT has placed an order that brings the recently announced partnership to begin small scale manufacturing of biometric payment cards. This is a key milestone as part of the setup project and necessary developments in preparing for high-volume market roll-out of Zwipe Pay ONE.
“We have allocated time and space in our manufacturing facilities for producing biometric payment cards powered by Zwipe’s technology. We are excited to move ahead with Zwipe in this important project to develop the biometric payments market” says Mr. Joseph Hui, Deputy Managing Director of Toppan Forms Card Technologies Limited.
“The APAC payments market has one of the highest growth rates in the world. We are pleased that TFCT, a payment solutions leader in this region, has decided to step up cooperation to integrate our platform in their payment cards. We look forward to working closely with TFCT to deliver safer and more secure contactless payments with the disruptive Zwipe Pay ONE platform” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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OSLO, NORWAY– 02 June 2020 – Zwipe AS announces that Bishwajit Choudhary has accepted the position of Executive Vice President Strategy & Channels at Zwipe, commencing 2 June 2020. He will lead Zwipe’s engagement efforts towards banks, global and domestic card schemes, selected retailers and other important payments ecosystem stakeholders.
Based in Oslo, Mr. Choudhary brings two decades of experience from Nets where he led many new business initiatives within Digital-ID, electronic signatures and mobile authentication for international clients. As the Group SVP (Strategy) he led Nets' market intelligence and strategy execution and played a key role in many commercial initiatives, notably open-banking data analytics, customer advisory, strategic alliances and fintech partnerships. Prior to joining Zwipe, he was Chief Commercial Officer at UserTribe, a global leader in delivering deep customer insights in 100+ countries based on live experience data.
“With increasing activity in payment cards and wearables in general, and biometrics in particular, and with Zwipe poised to take a technology and cost leadership position in this high potential market, timing is right for Zwipe to complement our growing engagements with our direct customers, the smart card manufacturers, by embarking on a “pull strategy”. This means that we will step up our engagements with banks and neo-banks, as well as new players in card issuance, such as retailers and tech companies. With deep insights in the payments industry, Bishwajit will add a valuable breadth in our payments expertise and lead our strategy and channel development,” said André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
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OSLO, NORWAY– 19 May 2020 –
Financial Calendar 2020 – 2021
Interim Report January-June 2020 August 27, 2020
Financial Year 2020 Annual Report February 25, 2021
Annual General Meeting May 19, 2021
Interim Report January-June 2021 August 26, 2021
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OSLO, NORWAY– 14 May 2020 – The Annual General Meeting in Zwipe AS (Company) was held today. All proposed resolutions were approved unanimously in accordance with the call for the meeting. The minutes of Annual General Meeting are included as an attachment. The complete proposal, which was approved by the Annual General Meeting, is available on www.zwipe.com for further reference. The attendants of the AGM represented 11,2% of the votes in the company.
The following matters were reviewed and confirmed:
Approval of the annual report and financial statements for 2019:
The board’s proposal for the annual report and the financial statements for 2019 for the Company and the group were unanimously approved.
Election of members to the Board of Directors:
The following persons were unanimously elected to comprise the new Board of the Directors:
Remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors and the members of the Nomination Committee
Remuneration to the Board for the period from the AGM in 2020 until the AGM in 2021 were unanimously approved as follows:
Chairman of the Board: NOK 260.000,-
Members of the Board: NOK 130.000,-
As remuneration, it was unanimously approved that members of the Nomination committee each receive a total of NOK 40.000 for each year in the term they have served (two years). Jörgen Lantto is covered by the board member remuneration and will hence not receive remuneration for his seat on the nomination committee.
Board authorizations and instructions to the Board regarding use of the authorization to issue shares to increase the Company's equity
The Board proposed that two new authorizations for the Board on capital increases are issued, (i) to fulfil the Company's incentive program and (ii) to cater for strengthening of the Company's equity.
i. Authorization for capital increase to fulfill the Company's incentive program
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the Board is hereby granted authorization to increase the share capital of Zwipe AS (the Company), on one or several occasions, with up to NOK 216 946.70 (2,169,647new shares), equivalent to 8.5% of the registered share capital at the time of this resolution. The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2021, however not beyond 30 June 2021. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
ii. Authorization for capital increase to strengthen the Company's equity (extract, please see the attachment to the notice for the complete proposal)
The Annual General Meeting resolved that the General Meeting granted a new authorization to the Board to issue shares corresponding to up to 25% of the share capital, and the new authorization shall be restricted to issue of shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time.
The authorization may be used to issue shares to strengthen the Company's equity to the extent the Board considers this to be in the Company's best interest at the given time. The authorization shall remain in force until the end of the annual general meeting 2021, however not beyond 30 June 2021. The pre-emptive right of the shareholders to subscribe may be set aside.
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Oslo Børs Merkur Market and on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on May 14, 2020 at 23:15 CET
OSLO, NORWAY – 7 MAY 2020 –
Q1 2020 Highlights
Developments after the period
CEO Comment
André Løvestam, Chief Executive Officer at Zwipe, said:
“Q1 2020 has been an intense quarter for Zwipe.
We started the year by listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market on January 28th, and have seen considerable interest in Zwipe across the Swedish investment community.
This quarter has also been marked by unprecedented global uncertainty tied to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. With the aim to protect our employees from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Zwipe quickly adapted with various protective measures such as remote work and travel bans. We have been able to continue operating remotely, with little to no impact being seen across our operations. Our commercial team has ramped up activity and been able to engage more frequently and openly as a result of the entire industry transitioning to videoconferencing as opposed to travel-intensive face-to-face meetings.
We observe an extensive focus on and interest in the improved hygiene and safety of biometric payment solutions; the awareness of biometric advantages is significantly higher than pre-Corona. This elevated focus on safety has significantly increased the growth of contactless transactions, and transaction caps have been raised all over the world1. Hygiene may become an accelerator and game-changer for biometric payments. A biometric payment card effectively eliminates the need to ever touch the payment terminal keypad – regular cards require PIN above the transaction limit, after a set number of transactions, and when the cumulative value of transactions has reached its limit.
We are seeing growing momentum across the payment ecosystem with increasing investment in supporting biometric payment card deployment. Zwipe is now working closely with partners across the value chain in developing a highly competitive offering in terms of energy efficiency and biometric performance at industry-leading manufacturing costs; Zwipe Pay ONE. This next generation contactless technology will achieve a radically lower total manufacturing cost per card, which we believe will be key to accelerate the volume market take-off. Therefore, we are proud and satisfied that the Zwipe Pay ONE project and the collaboration with Idemia and Idex is on track, as announced in April. The first samples of the new single chip have been manufactured and successfully powered-on. This development is very positive as our customers wish to get access to Zwipe Pay ONE as early as possible to be able to serve card issuers with the market’s most cost-effective biometric payment cards.
Recent certification industry announcements bring further confidence to the trajectory of biometric payment card rollout. Certification of payment products is a rigorous and capital-intensive process for card manufacturers and a strong signal of intent to capitalize on the next natural step for payment cards, following the introduction of dual-interface payment cards in 2007.
I am also satisfied with the very good progress in the wearable project announced with G+D in September, as this project is also on track.
Looking ahead, we are committed to supporting our customers to elevate their product portfolios by making it easy to integrate biometric payment solutions. Key to this work is technical deliverables and sharing the expertise we have built from having the most widely piloted solution to position, educate and market biometric payment cards to banks and issuers. We are doing everything in our power to build and maintain strong relationships with our industry-leading partners that will create sustainable long-term commercial opportunities for themselves and Zwipe going forward.”
Financial Update
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This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Oslo Børs Merkur Market, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on May 7, 2020 at 08:30 CEST
SAO BERNANDO DO CAMPO, BRAZIL – 9 APRIL 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe and Thomas Greg & Sons do Brasil (TGS), reference in Technology Solutions, Services of Identification and Printing of Security Documents in Brazil and in the world, one of the largest card manufacturers in Latin America with 55 million cards produced in 2018, have agreed to co-develop and launch biometric payment cards.
Commenting on this strategically important development President of Thomas Greg & Sons do Brasil, Hernani Finazzi said “We are excited to partner with Zwipe and leverage their industry leading expertise and intellectual property to be a first mover in Brasil with a product we believe has a strong value proposition to our customers, some of the region’s most established and fasted growing issuers.”
TGS intends to utilize Zwipe’s technology platform in bringing their biometric payment cards and other associated solutions to market. Development has begun with integration of the TGS payment card platform with Zwipe’s proprietary biometric technology with the first joint products planned for release in 2019. The two companies also confirmed that there are multiple banks in Brazil who have already engaged in serious dialogues to trial the solution.
Speaking on this important partnership André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe said “ We are proud to partner with a leading and innovative first mover like TGS and looking forward to collaborating on new opportunities in Latin America and beyond.”
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OSLO, NORWAY - APRIL 5, 2019 - Zwipe CEO, André Løvestam, presented at the Goode Intelligence Biometric Summit yesterday at Rise New York. He shared Zwipe's views on how biometric payment cards and biometric enabled wearable devices will help further expand the prevalence of contactless payments.
Please find the presentation attached.
OSLO, NORWAY - 4 April 2019: Reference is made to the notice sent on 12 March 2019 for extraordinary general meeting on 11 April 2019 at 13:00 CET.
After issuance of the notice, the board have received a request from two shareholders for additional items to be included in the agenda for the extraordinary general meeting.
Enclosed you will find an addendum to the notice of the extraordinary general meeting relating to the shareholders request as applicable to their shareholder rights, which relates to:
As stated on the notice sent 12. March; notice of attendance, in person or by proxy, shall be given no later than 10 April 2019 at 16:00 CET. Shareholders are encouraged to register this electronically through the company’s website www.zwipe.com or through VPS Investor Services (where pin code and reference number is not needed). 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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OSLO, NORWAY – 02 APRIL 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe and TAG Systems Group, a leading European card manufacturer announced a partnership to launch a commercial biometric payment card offering that will include a secure at-home enrolment solution.
TAG Systems is the primary card manufacturing partner for a large number of financial institutions based in Northern Europe and is a leading provider of a multitude of products for the major European based challenger banks that have seen rapid growth in the last 18 months.
Commenting on this major development in the growing biometric payment card marketplace Jon Neeraas, CEO of TAG Systems, said “we are excited to launch this partnership with Zwipe leveraging their expertise and intellectual property in this emerging product vertical” adding “we work with some of the world’s largest and fastest growing challenger banks and see their capability to launch new products in high volume, we believe financial institutions can embrace this biometric payment card technology and successfully scale up.”
TAG Systems’ subsidiaries throughout Europe including TagNitecrest in the UK, will support the commercialization of the solution by integrating Zwipe’s proprietary biometric technology platform by utilizing their expertise in card manufacturing, personalization and fulfillment services.
Speaking on this partnership André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said “TAG Systems is one of most prominent card manufacturers in the Nordics and a first mover and leading supplier to European challenger banks. I am confident that this collaboration will further strengthen Zwipe’s position in the growing biometric payment marketplace.”
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OSLO, NORWAY – 01 APRIL 2019 – Biometric technology company Zwipe is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Robert Mueller as its Chief Technology Officer, effective today.
Dr. Mueller joins Zwipe with an impressive track record of over 20 years 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.
At Zwipe, Dr. Mueller will lead Zwipe’s technical vision and development to ensure the company’s commercialization and long-term success. With this appointment, Zwipe will establish a European tech hub, which will complement the company’s existing research and development center in Colorado Springs, USA. Based out of Munich, Germany, the new hub will add further expertise to Zwipe on biometrics, algorithms, payment card integration, enrolment solutions and product management.
Commenting on this strong addition to the Zwipe team, CEO of Zwipe André Løvestam said “Robert brings a wealth of experience and knowledge and will be instrumental in ensuring the successful delivery of our technology platform to our expanding global customer base.”
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Oslo, 12 March 2019: Zwipe AS today publishes its annual report 2018. The report is attached to this notice and available for download at www.zwipe.com/about/ (investor relations).
The general meeting of Zwipe AS will be held Tuesday, 14 May 2019 at 13:00 CET.
For more information, please contact:
Lisbeth Breum, CFO
+47 932 28 126
lisbeth@zwipe.com
About Zwipe
Zwipe is a technology solution provider that enables battery-less, ultra-low-power, self-contained biometric authentication solutions. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within financial services, security and ID applications, Zwipe is “Making Convenience Secure™” for banks, merchants and consumers. Using advanced fingerprint recognition while protecting personal information, Zwipe’s solutions address the data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Zwipe has spent the last 10 years developing its unique power harvesting technology platform in combination with security solutions based on international infrastructure standards.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to notification of Zwipe news, please visit www.zwipe.com
Oslo, Norway, February 27 2019: Biometric technology company Zwipe has selected Fingerprint Cards’ T-Shape sensor for use in the company’s latest generation offering to be submitted for certification as part of Zwipe’s commercialization efforts for biometric payment cards. The selection is based on the sensor’s performance and scalability in mass volume production.
The selection also highlights Zwipe’s first patent* describing a method of manufacturing a smartcard with an on-board biometric sensor, where first a card body is formed having a circuit embedded within it, and then a cavity is formed in the card body to expose contacts on the circuit to connect to the biometric sensor. In the card manufacturing industry this production method is commonly referred to as post-placement, enabling industrialized manufacturing techniques such as hot lamination of plastic cards without damaging the sensor.
The T-Shape sensor is specifically designed to utilize this post-placement production method as it is the most efficient means of mass producing biometric smart cards. It is expected that, over time, a significant portion of biometric smart cards will be manufactured in this method. As previously communicated, fingerprint sensor suppliers are expected to sell sensors made for post-placement directly to the card producers as they will not be fixed to the card inlay before lamination.
The patent has been granted by the European Patent Office (EPO), as well as in the United States, China, South Korea and Australia. The patent was challenged in the EPO by multiple industrial groups. As a result, the patent is currently in an appeal process which is expected to take a minimum of two years if not longer to complete and finalize. During this period the rights granted under the EPO patent are upheld for the patent holder until a final decision is rendered.
Speaking on the selection André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said “we have a long-standing partnership with Fingerprint Cards and have chosen the T-Shape sensor because it gives our solution the quickest route to market, helping Zwipe offer a mass-market ready solution while leveraging our strong position in the value chain as evidenced by our patent portfolio.”
*Patent Numbers US9471825B2 / EP2842079B1 / KR 101758444B1 /CN 104380313B /AU2013252025/EP2842079B1
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About Zwipe
Zwipe is a technology solution provider that enables battery-less, ultra-low-power, self-contained biometric authentication solutions. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within security, financial services and ID applications, Zwipe is “Making Convenience Secure™” for banks, merchants and consumers. Using advanced fingerprint recognition while protecting personal information, Zwipe’s solutions address the data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Zwipe has spent the last 10 years developing its unique power harvesting technology platform in combination with security solutions based on international infrastructure standards. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
Further information:
André Løvestam, CEO
+47 930 44 040
info@zwipe.com
The offering and outcome in brief
Commenting on the capital raise André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said: “Zwipe is at the forefront of a global shift towards more secure and convenient contactless payments and the market is primed for growth. We are confident that our industry leading technology and partnerships will secure a strong market position both in the short and long-term. Thanks to the new funding received, we can intensify our efforts to support our customers and partners in Making Convenience Secure.”
Commenting on the capital raise Jörgen Lantto, Chairman of the Board of Zwipe, said: “The capital raise and subsequent admission to trading at Merkur Market are important milestones for Zwipe, as the company seeks to capitalize on its strong position in the biometric payment marketplace and as the payment industry moves towards bringing biometric payment cards to consumers. We would like to thank our existing shareholders for their continued support and welcome all new shareholders to Zwipe.”
Carnegie acted as Manager and Joint Bookrunner together with Redeye in connection with the offering. In addition, Nordnet acted as Selling Agent. Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS acted as legal advisor to the company and Advokatfirmaet Wiersholm AS acted as legal advisor to Carnegie.
Investor Relations contact:
Lisbeth Breum, CFO, +47 932 28 126 lisbeth@zwipe.com
About Zwipe
Zwipe is a technology solution provider that enables battery-less, ultra-low-power, self-contained biometric authentication solutions. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within security, financial services and ID applications, Zwipe is “Making Convenience Secure™” for banks, merchants and consumers. Using advanced fingerprint recognition while protecting personal information, Zwipe’s solutions address the data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Zwipe has spent the last 10 years developing its unique power harvesting technology platform in combination with security solutions based on international infrastructure standards.
To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
Commenting on the capital raise and Merkur Market process, André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, said:
“These are truly exciting times. Biometric payment cards enabled with Zwipe technology offer consumers the convenience of contactless and the security and peace of mind of biometrics. With a mission of Making Convenience Secure, Zwipe is the first mover and technology leader in our field. We are partnering with global leaders and are well protected with a strong IP portfolio.
We are preparing for a commercial breakthrough for our biometric payment card solution in the second half of 2019 and accelerating growth in 2020 and beyond, both within biometric payment cards, wearables and other form factors and verticals. With a strengthened balance sheet and shareholder base, we will be well positioned to capture the opportunities ahead.”
Zwipe highlights
Financial history
Zwipe is pursuing a growth strategy and has since inception raised a total of NOK 241.3 million (USD 27.6 million) in equity, debt and grants. The capital has been invested in R&D, technology development, IP, organizational expansion, partnerships, operational expansion and other preparations for large-scale commercialisation.
In addition, Zwipe was awarded a NOK 23 million (USD 2.6 million) grant from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme in December 2018. The grant will support Zwipe’s commercial go-to-market ability and will be paid out in tranches over the next 24 months. Horizon 2020 is the largest European Union (EU) Research and Innovation program, aiming to bring innovations faster to the market.
Offering highlights
The offering and subsequent admission to trading will contribute to strengthening Zwipe’s equity and financial position, including repayment of debt, and ensure sufficient funding of the company's planned commercialisation phase and further development of the company's technology.
The offering will consist of two tranches and is expected to raise gross proceeds of up to NOK 120 million (USD 13.7 million) through the issuance of up to 6 million new ordinary shares at a fixed price of NOK 20.00 per share.
The first tranche will be in the form of a private placement offered to large existing shareholders in the company and certain new investors in Norway and Sweden, who have pre-committed to subscribe for a total of 4.5 million shares in the amount of NOK 90 million (USD 10.3million).
Among the investors having provided pre-commitments are member of the board of directors, Lars Windfeldt, who has pre-committed to subscribe for 10.3% of the offering, approximately NOK 12.4 million (USD 1.4million) given a NOK 120 million round. Other members of the board of directors have pre-committed to subscribe for a total of approximately NOK 4.1 million (USD 0.5 million), approximately 3.4% of the offering.
The second tranche, in the amount of up to NOK 30 million (USD 3.4 million), will be in the form of a public offering of up to 1.5 million shares to retail investors. Existing shareholders in Zwipe who have not been allocated offer shares in the private placement will be offered to participate along with new retail investors in the Swedish and Norwegian markets.
All primary insiders in the company have entered into a lock-up agreement with the company, and hence are subject to a lock-up period of six months following completion of the offering.
Preliminary timetable and settlement:
Start of application period: 10 January 2019 at 09:00 hours (CET)
End of application period: 17 January 2019 at 16:30 hours (CET) (may close earlier and on short notice)
Allocation: On or about 17 January 2019
Settlement: Expected on or about 22 January 2019
Delivery and first day of trading: Expected on or about 28 January 2019, not prior to the share capital is registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and announced by the company
Note that the timetable is subject to any shortening or extension of the application period and to the conditions outlined below being satisfied.
Completion of the offering is conditional upon the following conditions being satisfied:
(i) The company obtaining admission to trading on Merkur Market,
(ii) Approval of the offering by an extraordinary general meeting expected to be held on or about 18 January 2019,
(iii) The company resolving to consummate the offering and allocate the offer shares, and
(iv) Registration of the share capital increase in the company pertaining to the offering with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises.
In addition, completion of the second tranche of 1.5 million shares to retail investors is conditional upon the approval of an EEA prospectus by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet).
The offering is being managed by Carnegie AS and Redeye AB as Managers and Joint Bookrunners. In addition, Nordnet (Nordnet Bank AB in Sweden and Nordnet Bank NUF in Norway) is acting as alternative application office and receiving agent for applications for offer shares in the public offering from investors who are not existing shareholders of the company. Investors who are not existing shareholders and who wish to apply for offer shares in the public offering through Nordnet will have to apply for offer shares through their Nordnet accounts. Persons who are not customers of Nordnet will have to apply for an account in Nordnet in order to apply for offer shares in the public offering.
Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig AS is acting as the company's legal counsel in connection with the offering and admission to trading. Advokatfirmaet Wiersholm AS acts as legal advisor to Carnegie AS in connection with the offering.
Media Contact for Zwipe: Ado Fazlic, VP Marketing, +47 930 44 040, ado@zwipe.com
Important notice
The contents of this announcement have been prepared by, and are the sole responsibility of, the company. The company's financial advisors are acting exclusively for the company and no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, or for advice in relation to the transactions, the contents of this announcement or any of the matters referred to herein. The transactions and the distribution of this announcement and other information in connection with the transactions may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. The company assumes no responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. This announcement may not be used for, or in connection with, and does not constitute, any offer of securities for sale in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The transactions have not, and shall not, be made in any jurisdiction or in any circumstances in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful. This announcement is not for distribution or publication, directly or indirectly, in or into any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make any such offer or solicitation to such person or where prior registration or approval is required for that purpose. No steps have been taken or will be taken relating to the transactions in any jurisdiction in which such steps would be required. Neither the publication and/nor delivery of this announcement shall under any circumstances imply that there has been no change in the affairs of the company or that the information contained herein is correct as of any date subsequent to the earlier of the date hereof and any earlier specified date with respect to such information. This announcement is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia). This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. The shares to be issued in the transactions have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account of, U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act), except pursuant to an effective registration statement under, or an exemption from the registration requirements of, the US Securities Act. All offers and sales outside the United States will be made in reliance on Regulation S under the US Securities Act. There will be no public offer of securities in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offering circular or prospectus in connection with an offering of securities of the company. Investors must neither accept any offer for, nor acquire, any securities to which this document refers, unless they do so on the basis of the information contained in the investor material made available by the company only to qualified persons in certain jurisdictions where an offer may be made. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, any securities and cannot be relied on for any investment contract or decision. The offering is not being made into Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the United States or Switzerland.
About Zwipe
Zwipe is a technology solution provider that enables battery-less, ultra-low-power, self-contained biometric authentication solutions. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within security, financial services and ID applications, Zwipe is “Making Convenience Secure™” for banks, merchants and consumers. Using advanced fingerprint recognition while protecting personal information, Zwipe’s solutions address the data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Zwipe has spent the last 10 years developing its unique power harvesting technology platform in combination with security solutions based on international infrastructure standards.
For more information, visit: www.zwipe.com
