Zwipe Modifies Biometric Payment Cards for Access Control Applications

Zwipe is getting into the access control business with a new biometric card solution that will enable two-factor authentication. The solution is essentially a modified version of the company’s biometric payment card platform, and is being realized through collaborations with LeGrand, Southco, and HID Global.

In practice, the Zwipe access control solution will presumably work much like the company’s biometric payment cards, which use fingerprint authentication to enable contactless transactions. Holders will be able to present the cards at a traditional card scanner, in much the same way they would present a payment card at a payment terminal. The card acts as a physical security token, and the built-in fingerprint sensor supplements that with an extra layer of biometric identity verification.

The Zwipe offering will be compatible with standard access control readers, so organizations will be able to implement the solution without updating their physical infrastructure. All of the company’s partners are well-established players in the access control space. HID Global’s Mobile Access solution has been installed at facilities in Russia and Guatemala. LeGrand provides security solutions for commercial and residential buildings, and Southco designs and manufactures its own access control solutions.

Zwipe is demoing the new solution at its booth at TRUSTECH 2021. The event kicked off on November 30 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. The first product that will emerge from the actual partnership is an access control solution for data centers that is being developed in collaboration with LeGrand’s Raritan subsidiary.

“Thanks to Zwipe’s advanced biometric authentication technology platform, Zwipe is ready to move into adjacent markets, starting with Access Control,” said Zwipe CEO André Løvestam. “We see a real need for much stronger access control solutions and are confident that our biometric card solution will address many security concerns in this space. I am convinced Access Control and ID will be a significant business line for Zwipe going forward.”

Zwipe is hoping to capture a portion of a multi-billion dollar access control industry. The company’s biometric payment card business has recently been making in-roads in Africa and the Middle East.

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December 1, 2021 – by Eric Weiss