Zwipe and Infineon Extend Partnership, Aiming for Mass Biometric Card Deployment

“We are proud to strengthen our long-standing partnership with a global technology leader such as Infineon. This collaboration further enhances our ability to commercialize our technology and IP through competitive solutions for mass-volume deployment.” – André Løvestam, CEO, Zwipe

With the clock ticking down to mass deployment of biometric payment cards, Zwipe and Infineon are re-upping their collaboration, announcing they have extended their already long-standing partnership.

Zwipe is an established player in biometric smart cards with active financial pilot projects in Europe and the Middle East that the company expects to be certified and made commercially available before the end of 2019. An integral aspect of the biometric payment card proposition is on-device biometric matching, and that’s where semiconductor specialist Infineon comes in: the company’s Secure Element is deployed on every current Zwipe card trial.

Biometric payment cards are widely seen as the next popular wave in point of sale payments. Embedded fingerprint sensors enable the highest level of security and assurance on contactless tap payments, allowing for optimal user experience by doing away with PIN codes for expensive purchases.

A recent report from ABI Research names biometric card technology as a primary driver behind the sharp rise it predicts for EMV payment card issuance for the next four years.

Commenting on the extended partnership, Infineon’s Head of Payment & Wearables Bjoern Scharfen said, “Our collaboration and joint offering with Zwipe is a key accelerator of mass deployment in the biometric payment market.”

While biometric cards seem to be the companies’ primary focus for the time being, the extent of their renewed partnership stretches beyond the trendy form-factor. According to Zwipe’s official announcement, its collaboration with Infineon will see the companies defining and developing “advanced system-on-chip solutions and related system designs for mass deployment of biometric smart devices, including payment cards and wearables.”