Biometric payment cards advance with Zwipe Middle East pilot, Crédit Agricole September launch

Zwipe and its regional partner Middle East Payment Services (MEPS) have announced the launch of a pilot of biometric payment cards based on the Zwipe Pay ONE platform, with top-level executives and key decision makers at 20 banks and issuers in the Levant region participating.

The partnership between Zwipe and MEPS was formed in June. Under the collaborative agreement, distributor Inkript will deliver the biometric payment cards to MEPS

“Nothing brings more trust in Biometric Payment Cards than the first-hand experience of using them,” MEPS Chief Executive Officer Ali Abdel Jabbar comments. “With this pilot, MEPS will offer the top-ranking officers and key decision makers at up to 20 banks and issuers a chance to gain such first-hand experience by trying these state-of-the-art payment cards in a live environment, making it the largest multi-bank trial of these cards globally. The pilot will be concluded in Q4 2021 with Zwipe Pay ONE Cards delivered from Inkript. We are confident that after these trials, most banks will launch pilots leading to multiple commercial launches.”

“This is a completely new approach to piloting our technology, providing a unique opportunity for top bankers and decision makers in up to 20 individual banks to experience first-hand the enhanced convenience, security and hygiene benefits of biometric payment cards. We are extremely happy and excited that our collaboration with MEPS is proceeding at such great pace,” adds André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.

Crédit Agricole biometric payment cards launch set for September

A launch of biometric payment cards by Crédit Agricole is expected to coincide with the beginning of the school year in France this September, reports MoneyVox.

The fingerprint biometrics-enabled cards will be deployed to “a significant number of regional banks,” Crédit Agricole Payment Services Secretary General Jean-Luc Pothet.

The company launched a trial of biometric payment cards featuring sensors from Fingerprint Cards in Indre et Loire in 2019. Crédit Agricole also launched a pilot of voice biometric authentication for in-store purchases made with payment cards in July, which MoneyVox writes is intended to benefit visually impaired customers.

Mastercards without magnetic stripes coming in 2024

The familiar magnetic stripe will be left off of new Mastercard debit and credit cards, beginning in 2024, according to a company announcement, as the payments giant transitions towards electronic chips, and eventually biometric payment cards.

In the U.S., which lags behind the rest of the developed world in using chip and PIN authentication, stripe-less cards are expected to reach the market in 2027. Payments with EMV chips now make up 86 percent of face-to-face card transactions globally.

By 2029, Mastercard intends to stop issuing cards with magnetic stripes altogether, making 2033 their prospective end-of-life date.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Mastercard  |  pilot project  |  stocks  |  Zwipe  |  Zwipe Pay