Zwipe Shifts Focus from Payment Market to Biometric Access Control

Norwegian biometric card firm, Zwipe, will be withdrawing from the payments market due to a disappointing response to its fingerprint-based contactless cards. The company has announced a restructuring and strategic shift toward the biometric access control market.

Changes in Business Strategy

Zwipe’s pivot from the payment sector to biometric access control signifies a significant shift in the company’s direction. The restructuring and strategic changes will result in a reduction of operating expenses in 2024 by approximately NOK 40 million compared to the previous year.

Zwipe CEO, Robert Puskaric, stated, “Our new strategic direction will mean laser focus on the singular objective to rapidly achieve commercial success with Zwipe Access while operating in as lean a manner as possible to maximize our financial flexibility.”

A History in Payment Services

Historically, Zwipe’s primary focus was on the development and application of its biometric authentication technology in the payments market. Over the last two years, the company completed the development of Zwipe Pay, its mobile enrollment solutions, and achieved full certification of the technology by both Visa and Mastercard.

Despite these achievements, market adoption did not materialize as expected, particularly towards the end of 2023. Only one bank, Kuwait International Bank, has commenced a rollout, and this was restricted to VIP clients.

Shifting to Zwipe Access

Puskaric explained that the decision to focus on Zwipe Access was a natural outcome of the traction seen in 2023. The extensive effort invested in developing and certifying Zwipe Pay has laid the foundation for success with Zwipe Access.

The restructuring will result in a net loss of five employees linked to Zwipe Pay. However, the Zwipe Access sales team is expected to expand slightly as the company intensifies its commercialization efforts.

Puskaric stated, “While it is heartbreaking to let highly valued employees go and transition away from Zwipe Pay, we fully believe this is the right course of action for our shareholders. Zwipe Access is a higher margin business with visible commercial inroads, and our objective is for Zwipe to approach breakeven in H2 2025 due to higher margins, lower operational costs, and lower supply chain costs.”