Thales wins biometric bank card deal, Zwipe partners on payments, hybrid ID cards

Jordan Kuwait Bank has selected Thales to supply biometric payment cards for contactless EMV transactions.

The fingerprint-enabled cards will be the first contactless EMV bank cards in the region, according to The National Business.

The cards will be distributed to Jordan Kuwait Bank’s World Elite customers, who can enroll their fingerprint biometrics from home.

Thales, which developed its biometric payment cards with Fingerprint Cards’ technology, has been signaling its readiness for commercial rollouts to issuers since the summer.

Zwipe signs up Lebanese payments provider, decentralized finance firm

Credit Card Management (CCM), a leading payment card service provider based in nearby Lebanon, has formed a partnership with Zwipe to issue biometric payment cards to banks in the country, according to a company announcement.

Cards featuring Zwipe Pay ONE will be offered to the banks CCM provides issuing, acquiring and personalization services for, which total more than 25. The partners intend to jointly support delivery of the cards, pilots and commercial launches.

“We are always eager to bring state-of-the-art payment products that enhance customers’ experience. Zwipe Pay ONE is a disruptive (Gen3) biometric payment platform that will enable issuer clients to deliver a completely contact-free checkout experience and payment security. We are proud to partner with Zwipe,” says Johnny Torbey, deputy general manager at CCM.

Reltime has also chosen Zwipe Pay ONE to provide the biometrics for the payment cards used in its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

The cards are planned for issuance by Reltime in Europe, Japan, India, Mexico and Brazil during the first quarter of 2022, and the rest of the world in 2022’s third quarter.

“We are delighted to see such positive feedback from the market on Reltime’s DEFI Ecosystem. We already have several partner engagements from all over the world,” Reltime CCO Cornelia Stensby van der Laak comments. “Reltime has noted a strong interest in biometric payment cards, which deliver world-class security and convenience. Zwipe is a well-respected biometric payment technology brand, and we aim to launch the first pilots in Q1 2022, followed by commercial launches shortly after.”

Reltime has produced a commercial explaining the cards’ biometrics enrollment system, and that it can be used for payments or identification applications, as it comes with a color photo on the back and embedded personal data for KYC purposes.

“We are proud that a global innovator such as Reltime recognizes the value of biometric payment cards and has decided to use Zwipe as part of its next-generation financial services platform. Together we will help many telecom operators and issuers to bring significantly enhanced convenience and security in payments. We are excited about the planned pilots and launches next year,” states André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  Reltime  |  Thales Digital Identity and Security  |  Zwipe  |  Zwipe Pay