Zwipe partners to bring biometric cards to access control, new territories

Another busy week for Norway’s biometric fintech firm Zwipe as it announces a new two-factor access control authentication system based on its biometric authentication platform, and new partnerships with HID Global and others, plus a new enrollment system for its biometric payment cards and a further new partnership to launch the cards in Africa and the Middle East.

Zwipe moves into biometric access control with partnerships

Zwipe’s new two-factor biometric solution aims to capture the growth in the global access control market which the firm understands will increase from $7.65 billion at present to $11.7 billion by 2026, according to forecasting by Mordor Intelligence.

Zwipe is entering into collaborations in the sector with trusted identity leader HID Global, buildings solutions specialist LeGrand and access solutions manufacturer Southco. Together they will bring to market a cost-effective and biometric solution based on Zwipe’s biometric cards, meaning it can bring an advanced security solution to existing access control infrastructure.

The product will be demo’d at Trustech in Paris from 30 November and they already have a customer in place: Raritan, a data center-focussed subsidiary of LeGrand.

“Thanks to Zwipe’s advanced biometric authentication technology platform, Zwipe is ready to move into adjacent markets, starting with Access Control,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe, commenting on the development. “We see a real need for much stronger access control solutions and are confident that our biometric card solution will address many security concerns in this space.”

New biometric payment card enrollment approaches

The Norwegian firm has launched a range of enrollment solutions for its biometric Zwipe Pay ONE platform giving far more flexibility to issuers from 2022.

“Issuers repeatedly told us that enrolment is one of the most important parts of the user experience for biometric payment cards and we are delighted to have made several breakthroughs that we believe will transform the way in which consumers enrol their cards whilst even further strengthening the value proposition for issuers,” comments Løvestam.

The new range includes passive and customizable enrollment devices such as sleeved, integrated card fulfilment packaging and in-branch enrollment, but also self-service smartphone APIs that can be integrated into issuers’ existing apps. While the do-it-yourself avenue may be most attractive in some markets, in others with low smartphone penetration, the branch option may help boost financial inclusion programs.

Zwipe partners with NetPS to take biometric payment cards to Africa, Middle East

Biometric payment cards will soon becoming a reality in even more regions as Zwipe signs a deal with NetPS, part of the dzcard Group, a major smart card personalization bureau in Morocco. The deal will bring Zwipe Pay ONE to banks across Africa and the Middle East.

NetPS has partnerships with 30 banks in 15 countries across Africa, principally in North Africa, including Société Générale.

“As a leading provider of payment cards across Africa, we believe adding Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards to our portfolio creates a compelling and differentiating product to our clients,” comments Younes Lahlou, CEO of NetPS.

“We are looking forward to working with the Zwipe team on developing some very innovative and exciting card designs, fulfillment solutions and enrolment options. We believe this new product will drive new business and significantly uplift customer loyalty for our clients.”

The news follows days after the announcement of a pilots of their biometric payment cards in Lebanon and Iraq via a partnership with Areeba.

Article Topics

access control  |  authentication  |  biometric cards  |  biometric enrollment  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint recognition  |  HID  |  Zwipe  |  Zwipe Access  |  Zwipe Pay