Biometric payment card startup Zwipe has swiped $14M to add to an earlier Series B round as it continues to work towards commercializing technology that embeds a fingerprint reader in payment plastic for an added layer of security.
“We are not commercially rolled out yet, we expect that to happen in the second half of this year, starting first in Europe and potentially in the Middle East,” a spokesman told us, saying the financing will be used to scale up the company to prepare for a commercial rollout of a biometric payment card solution in the second half of 2019.
He said it’s also eyeing additional form factors such as wearables down the line, penciling in 2020 for expanding into other devices and verticals.
Although it has yet to push its tech past the pilot stage with payment cards.
“Our technology is currently deployed in pilot programs in Italy, with Intesa Sanpaolo Bank and with 10 different banks across the Middle East,” the spokesman told us. “We have active partnerships globally. In APAC, specifically China and the Philippines, we expect to launch further trials in the near term. In Europe we have piloted with the Bank of Cyprus and expect to launch several more trials in Europe in the first half of 2019.”
Back in 2014, working with MasterCard, it showed off a credit card with an embedded fingerprint reader, seemingly taking a leaf out of Apple’s approach with Touch ID.
The new funding was raised via an offering of 6M new shares, from around 2,300 investors, ahead of a planned listing of the company on Merkur Market, Oslo Børs. Zwipe says the share offer was substantially over-subscribed, and it expects trading to commence on or around January 28. The pre-money valuation of the company is stated as NOK 189 million ($22M).
Commenting on the raise in a statement, CEO Andre Løvestam said: “Zwipe is at the forefront of a global shift towards more secure and convenient contactless payments and the market is primed for growth. We are confident that our industry leading technology and partnerships will secure a strong market position both in the short and long-term. Thanks to the new funding received, we can intensify our efforts to support our customers and partners in ‘making convenience secure’.”