Biometric payment cards from Zwipe, Idemia rolling out

Zwipe Pay ONE has been selected by an unnamed ‘Global Tier-1’ bank headquartered in Europe for a pilot it plans to run in three countries, and the company has also received a $318,000 commercial order for its biometric payment card technology, according to a pair of company announcements.

The commercial order has been placed by Inkript, which Zwipe formed a partnership with last year to bring biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay ONE to the Middle Eastern market. The biometric payment platform is being delivered in 2021 and 2022 ahead of planned commercial rollouts next year.

The pilot with the new bank customer is planned for three European countries in the first quarter of 2022, with positive results expected to lead to a commercial launch of Zwipe Pay ONE-powered biometric payment cards in the summer of the same year. A few hundred cardholders will participate in the mystery bank’s pilot, for which Zwipe will provide additional support.

“We are thrilled that a Global Tier 1 bank has chosen Zwipe Pay ONE-based biometric payment cards for their pilot and, potentially, for a commercial launch where the long-term potential could be significant,” states Zwipe CEO André Løvestam. “Besides the technology, Zwipe will also support the bank through all stages of the pilot, ensuring that all end users’ experiences and feedback are systematically captured. This Zwipe Pay ONE pilot is a significant milestone and a testament to our world-class technology and excellent collaboration with strong partners in all parts of the payments ecosystem.”

The momentum behind biometric payment cards, and Zwipe Pay ONE in particular, drove the company’s revenues to a 96 percent improvement on a y-o-y basis to $108,000 in its recently-concluded second quarter, and the company also picked up close to $12 million in funding from a billionaire investor.

Idemia biometric debit cards issued in Libya

Idemia FCode fingerprint biometric cards will be issued as debit cards by Libya’s Tadawul Group, the Libya Herald reports.

It appears from the report that the cards are already in use.

Libya’s government has also tapped Idemia’s digital identity expertise, with a deal last year to establish a biometrics-based digital ID amid the country’s rebuilding efforts.

FCode cards also include technology from Zwipe and Idex Biometrics.

Idex exec predicts fingerprint preference for recovering retail payments

Idex Biometrics CEO Vince Graziani believes the combination of safety and security offered by biometric payment cards will make them the top payment method as retail sales recover from the pandemic.

Company market research indicates that almost two thirds of people worry that touching payment terminals could increase their chances of catching COVID, Graziani writes in PaymentsJournal. While avoiding the performance issues mask-wearing creates for facial recognition systems, and avoiding cloud storage and associated data security concerns, fingerprint-enabled payment cards could provide reassurance to nervous consumers, Graziani suggests.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint recognition  |  IDEMIA  |  Idex Biometrics  |  Libya  |  pilot project  |  Zwipe  |  Zwipe Pay