Zwipe biometric payment cards could be coming to North America, Egypt starts trials

The latest destinations have emerged for potential deals to launch Zwipe’s biometric payment card. Issuers in North America may soon be able to start offering cards with the on-card fingerprint scanning system Zwipe Pay ONE, while an issuer in Egypt is already beginning trials.

Details are scarce for the North America situation. A statement from the Norwegian firm says only that “one of the largest global providers of payment services has signed an agreement to work with Zwipe to evaluate the opportunity of bringing Zwipe Pay ONE enabled biometric payment cards to issuers in North America and beyond.”

“We are delighted to be entering this agreement with one of the largest and most respected payment service providers in the world,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe. “This agreement will provide the opportunity to accelerate the adoption of next generation biometric payment cards in some of the largest credit card markets in the world. We look forward to a mutually rewarding partnership.”

Pilot in Egypt

Rollout is further ahead in Egypt. Masria Digital Payments (MDP), Egypt’s largest smart card manufacturer, is working with a medium-sized Egyptian bank to launch the first pilot of cards with Zwipe Pay ONE biometrics on the continent of Africa.

“Seeing a strong interest from our bank clients, we are confident that this first pilot in Egypt, which is with a medium sized bank, is one of many to come,” comments MDP Vice President Ahmed Nafei.

“MDP has always been at the forefront of bringing payment innovations to banks. During the pandemic, we have seen growing demand for touch-less checkout as it is safer and much more hygienic which is exactly what this innovation brings.”

The trial is expected in early 2022 with commercial launch to follow. The timeline matches claims that 2022 will be the year when biometric payment cards go fully mainstream.

Zwipe recently launched new enrollment solutions that issuers can offer to customers from next year, such as sleeves for at-home activation.

The firm is working on bringing its technology to cards in Morocco while trials are coming to Lebanon and Iraq.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  contactless biometrics  |  Zwipe  |  Zwipe Pay