Zwipe and LEGIC Team Up on Biometric Access Cards

The access control specialist LEGIC Identsystems is partnering with Zwipe to provide its clients with biometric security cards. To that end, the company will be integrating the Zwipe Access solution with its own LEGIC Security Platform.

The Zwipe Access solution essentially turns a conventional access card into a more secure multi-factor authentication option through the use of a built-in fingerprint sensor. The card can be presented at a badge reader like any other physical credential, but the person will only be granted access if there is a fingerprint match when the card is detected. As a result, other people cannot use the card in the event that it gets lost or stolen.

Zwipe Access has additional benefits from a privacy perspective. Each user’s print is captured with the built-in fingerprint sensor, and the biometric template is encrypted and stored in a secure element on the card itself. That means that the organization issuing the cards does not need to maintain any kind of biometric database, which in turn makes it easier to comply with GDPR regulations. The cards are also compatible with legacy readers, so organizations can upgrade to biometric security without needing to replace their existing access hardware.

“Zwipe’s batteryless smartcards add a new layer of security to the huge installed base of LEGIC card-based access control systems worldwide,” said LEGIC BU Access Control Head John Harvey. “This innovation brings benefits that were formerly only available on smartphone solutions, while preserving existing infrastructure and drastically reducing time-to-market.”

“We are already working on several sharp customer cases based on LEGIC’s Security Platform,” added Zwipe CEO André Løvestam. “We are confident this is only the start of a long series of opportunities with LEGIC.”

Zwipe formally unveiled its new Access solution at the tail end of 2021, using a modified version of the same technology that powers is biometric payment cards. The company has already delivered access solutions for India’s sKarn RoboticS, and has indicated that physical security will be key to its growth prospects in the months ahead.

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April 18, 2022 – by Eric Weiss