Biometric payment card earnings ramping up for Zwipe

Zwipe has reported revenues of NOK 0.4 million (roughly US$47,800) in the third quarter of its fiscal 2021 year, as the trickle of money from its biometric payment card contracts continues to grow.

The modest revenues represent a substantial increase from NOK 0.1 million ($11,950) in the same period a year ago. Recruitments and other activity pushed costs up, resulting in average monthly operational cashflow of negative NOK 5.3 million ($630,000), compared to negative NOK 4.4 million ($530,000) in Q3 2020.

The company spent the quarter strengthening its foundation for launching pilots and scale roll-outs of biometric payment cards, according to the announcement.

“On the customer side, we received our first commercial orders for subsequent deployments of Zwipe Pay ONE) from BCC in Taiwan and Inkript in Lebanon with a combined value of MNOK 20 (USD 2.2 million). Both players have strong regional positions in Asia and the MENA region respectively,” Zwipe CEO André Løvestam comments.

“We are also pleased that a global Tier 1 Smartcard Manufacturer decided to start a comprehensive evaluation of the Zwipe Pay ONE platform, reflecting the relevance and competitiveness of our technology and offering.”

Løvestam is also encouraged by the launch of card pilots based on Zwipe Pay ONE biometrics in three European countries by a global ‘Tier-1’ bank, ahead of a planned commercial launch in summer of 2022.

Zwipe also became debt-free again when its second PPP loan was forgiven in August.

The company reported an even more dramatic increase in earnings over the prior years in its first-half 2021 report.

Cultural journey

Løvestam and Zwipe VP of Key Accounts Andrew Saines discussed corporate culture with Niklas Sävås of analyst firm Redeye, and a company-wide cultural journey the company undertook in the first half of 2021.

A corporate pyramid concept Løvestam has been working on since prior to joining Zwipe, with purpose at the bottom, goals and strategy, organization and leadership, and execution above it in ascending steps, leading to results at the top of the pyramid.

Middle East advances

Credit Libanais, one of Lebanon’s largest banks, has selected Zwipe Pay ONE as the basis for its planned biometric payment card.

Zwipe will support the Credit Libanais throughout the pilot, in addition to supplying the core biometric technology, to help understand user feedback and the business impact of the initiative.

“Post pandemic, we have seen a strong demand for touch-less checkout as they are safer and much more hygienic which this innovation will directly address; and that is why we have partnered with Zwipe, a global leader in biometric payment card technologies, to pilot a new generation of biometric payment cards that will deliver a significantly improved user experience and security for our retail clients,” says Credit Libanais Deputy General Manager Randa Bdeir. “We are truly proud to partner with Zwipe and be the pioneers to deploy such an important development in the entire region.”

Middle East Payment Services (MEPS) says in a LinkedIn post it is the first in the region to offer biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay ONE, having launched the cards in the Middle East and Africa in collaboration with Inkript.

This deal was also identified by Løvestam in the earnings announcement as a key development on the issuer side.

“This new innovation allows contactless payment of any amount, and we are proud to be the first card exporter to deliver new generation technology in the Middle East and Africa,” states MEPS CEO Ali Abdul Jabbar, according to LinkedIn’s translation. “Nothing can increase confidence in biometric cards more than trying them.”

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  financial results  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Middle East  |  stocks  |  Zwipe  |  Zwipe Pay