Zwipe’s New Challenger Bank Biometric Card Partnership Opens Door to German Market

“Next generation payment cards powered by on-card fingerprint authentication will greatly help to differentiate our payment offerings with respect to a seamless checkout experience and uplifted transaction security.” – Boris Joseph, CEO, Fidor Bank

Zwipe has found a German partner to help deliver its biometric payment card technology to the financial services market. The company has teamed up with Fidor Bank AG, which plans to pilot biometric cards in the second half of the year.

Founded in 2009, Fidor is a digital bank headquartered in Munich. It was acquired by France’s Groupe BPCE in 2016, and was then sold to United States-based Ripplewood Holdings in a transaction expected to close this year.

According to Fidor’s website, its management under Ripplewood will entail a new “strategic plan” that “aims to reposition the bank as a leading partner for digital asset market participants and Fintech firms across Europe.”

That suggests that Fidor could be helpful in spreading the word about Zwipe’s biometric payment card technology in the European financial services market. The Zwipe Pay platform is designed to enable partner institutions to develop their own payment card solutions featuring built-in fingerprint sensors that can biometrically authenticate a user during a transaction, whether it’s contactless or contact-based.

“We are delighted to take this big step with Zwipe, a well-known pioneer in biometric authentication and payment solutions,” commented Fidor Bank CEO Boris Joseph. “Next generation payment cards powered by on-card fingerprint authentication will greatly help to differentiate our payment offerings with respect to a seamless checkout experience and uplifted transaction security.”

Joseph went on to add that his organization is aiming not only to conduct a pilot of the Zwipe solution this year, but also to proceed with a commercial launch of biometric cards.

For Zwipe, the partnership marks another important development in its overarching effort to position itself as a leading vendor in the emerging biometric payment cards market. It comes after the company secured a Letter of Approval for its solution from Visa in March, which Zwipe CEO André Løvestam highlighted as a milestone that clears the way forward for Zwipe Pay’s global compatibility with Visa cards in the company’s most recent operational update.

In Zwipe’s latest announcement, Løvestam emphasized the importance of Fidor’s position in Germany.

“We are grateful for Fidor Bank’s confidence in joining forces with Zwipe to bring biometric payment cards to Germany, one of the largest payment markets in Europe,” he said. “Fidor Bank’s position as a leading digital bank and Zwipe’s disruptive technology in biometric payments lay the foundation for a mutually rewarding collaboration.”

–

June 14, 2022 – by Alex Perala