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ZWIPE AS – Publication of annual report 2020

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OSLO, NORWAY – 25 February 2021 – Zwipe AS today publishes its annual report 2020. 

Highlights for 2020 include: 
 

 Financials 

  • Revenues increased to MNOK 1.8 (MNOK 1.5). 

  • Operating expenditures were reduced to MNOK 63.7 (MNOK 96.8). In constant currency, this represents a 38% reduction. The savings resulted from the streamlining program as announced in November 2019. 

  • EBITDA improved to MNOK -59.9 (MNOK -92.0), mainly due to the implementation of the streamlining program. 

  • Results before tax was MNOK – 61.9 (MNOK -94.9), and earnings per share improved to NOK -1.89 (-5.98). 

  • Cash flow from operations before financing improved to MNOK –62.1 (-85.0). The cash flow in 2020 included co-investments with Idemia of MNOK 19.7, compared to MNOK 9.3 in 2019. Adjusted for these elements, the operating cash flow was improved by 39% compared to 2019. 

  • The Board of Directors proposes that no dividend be paid for 2020. 
     

Significant events 2020

  • Zwipe listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm, Sweden.  

  • Zwipe expanded its growing network of industry partnerships covering Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa during 2020 including the 5 new customer partnerships announced; Masria Digital Payments, Watchdata Technologies, Toppan Forms Card Technologies, Asia Credit Card and Publicenter.  

  • Zwipe also partnered with Liveo Research, Smart Technology Services, Wisecard and CardMatix, expanding our ecosystem to enable cost-efficient mass-volume manufacturing of biometric payment cards based on Zwipe Pay ONE. 

  • Zwipe and Idex entered a collaboration framework for Zwipe Pay ONE. Idemia, Zwipe and Idex achieved several key milestones towards the next generation biometric card platform.  

  • Zwipe and TietoEVRY joined forces with a landmark agreement to deliver biometric payment solutions based on the Zwipe Pay ONE solution to banks in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The agreement significantly increases our market reach as TietoEVRY is the leading provider of payment cards to issuers in these regions. 

  • Zwipe secured a strong foothold in the Middle East through go-to-market partnerships with three leading players in card payments: areeba, Inkript and VeriTech. 

  • Zwipe successfully completed a private placement, followed by a subsequent repair offering, issuing 7,381,315 new shares and raising approximately NOK 111 million in gross proceeds in total. 

  • Zwipe placed an order for 300,000 units of Idex’s next generation fingerprint sensors to support the rollout of Zwipe Pay ONE. 

  • Zwipe conducted several cardholder insight studies including some with our partners. Insights from the Nordics, UK and the United States show strong consumer interest for safer and more secure payments.  

  • In partnership with TietoEVRY, Zwipe secured the first pilot program with Zwipe Pay ONE with OP Financial Group, the largest Financial Services Group in Finland. 

  • Zwipe’s next-generation chip for biometric payment cards, in which Zwipe has co-invested with Idemia, obtained the ICCN security certification from EMVCo.  
     

Significant Events after the period 

  • Swedish fintech Vopy chose Zwipe’s biometric payment platform, Zwipe Pay ONE, for its biometric payment cards. Vopy’s partner network consists of telecom providers and financial institutions that reach millions of consumers. 

  • Announced agreements with 4 new smart card manufacturers.  
     

André Løvestam, CEO comments 

"2020 was a landmark year for Zwipe. In 2020 we positioned the company for growth through significant expansion in our customer and partnership engagements, advances in our technology leadership, and by strengthening our organization. We have seen increased public awareness of the importance of contactless payment and a sharp rise in demand for safe and secure payment solutions. The Zwipe Pay ONE development project has now passed its most critical milestones and the first pilots incorporating Zwipe Pay ONE have already been announced. The next steps, in addition to full completion of our internal development, are to prepare our smart card manufacturers and issuers for pilots, certification and volume production, after which fully certified biometric payment cards will be available from our customers to issuers for full commercial launch,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe. 

He added, “While COVID-19 has created and continues to create challenges to project execution, the elevated focus on safety following the pandemic has dramatically increased the growth of contactless transactions and transaction caps have been raised all over the world. Hygiene and safety are likely to become accelerators and game-changers for biometric payments for years to come. We experienced an unprecedented acceleration in our engagements with issuers and card manufacturers throughout 2020. We are engaging with more than 250 banks and over 40 of the world’s top 50 smart card manufacturers and our pipeline in both these segments has never been stronger. We are confident that our strategic partnerships, global technology excellence, focused engagements with issuers, as well as our end-to-end trusted advisor approach and unique one-stop-shop offering, are laying the foundation for many commercial wins ahead”.

“By bringing together leading suppliers of technology, payment cards, personalization, fulfilment services, and processing services, as well as issuers with a strong end-user focus, we have created an end-to-end ecosystem to deliver Biometric Payment Cards in key markets. We are well prepared to address a global market with strong long-term growth and value creation potential,” Løvestam concluded. 

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About Zwipe 

Zwipe is pioneering the next generation contactless payments experience, providing biometric payment cards components and wearables technology that enable consumers to authorize transactions with their fingerprints without compromising their privacy. Together with an ecosystem of partners including global brands within digital security and financial services, Zwipe is "Making Convenience Safe & Secure" for banks, merchants and consumers. Zwipe's solutions address the hygiene and data theft pitfalls inherent in traditional authentication methods. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence, Zwipe is leading the next great shift in payments from contactless to contact free. To learn more, visit www.zwipe.com
 

For more information, please contact:  
Lars Kristian Solheim, CFO 
+47 991 661 35 
lars.kristian@zwipe.com

This is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo, Nasdaq First North Growth Market and the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se, +46 (0)8528 00 399. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 08:02 CET on 25 February 2021. 

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