Zwipe AS has said it plans to shift its focus away from biometric payment products as a result of less-than-expected progress in either market adoption or in the pace of commercial launches towards the end of 2023.
The company said in a statement, it will increase efforts in developing biometric authentication technology in the access control market as part of restructuring plans which will see reduced operational costs, particularly related to Zwipe Pay. Zwipe will, however, continue to serve and fulfill purchase orders from Zwipe Pay customers that have already been certified.
Zwipe CEO Robert Puskaric said: “The market is in its early stages but we believe biometric cards can represent a substantial share of the nearly 500 million smart access cards expected to be shipped annually in coming years.”
He added “The decision to focus on Zwipe Access is a natural outcome of the traction seen in 2023. However, all the effort that went into developing and certifying Zwipe Pay is what laid the foundation for success with Zwipe Access.”
Zwipe has historically focused primarily on the development and application of its biometric authentication technology in the payments market. Over the last two years, Zwipe completed the development of Zwipe Pay including mobile enrollment solutions, achieved full certification of the technology by both Visa and Mastercard, and spent significant time lining up the biometric payment card.
The company added that in recent months compliance with the EU NIS2 Directive on cybersecurity requirements in critical infrastructure sectors has emerged as a critical catalyst for end customers. This has encouraging them to consider the adoption of biometric access control solutions, something which Zwipe Access provides.
“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 as a result of higher margins, lower operational costs, and lower supply chain costs,” Puskaric said.
