Finance & Economics

Norway-based tech to pilot biometric payment cards in Africa

The pilot is set to take place in early 2020 before a commercial launch

Africa

Norway-based tech to pilot biometric payment cards in Africa. Source: zwipe.com

Zwipe is set to introduce the first biometric payment card in Africa.

The pilot is being rolled out in partnership with Masria Digital Payments (MDP) with a medium-sized bank in Egypt.

MDP, which is based in Egypt, is the largest smart producer in the nation. Its initial collaboration with Zwipe was initiated in 2020. Since then, the two have worked together to avail biometric payment cards to customers in Egypt. The two also have a joint interest in the financial industry in the nation.

Pay ONE card solution, a product of Zwipe, will feature in the pilot. The Pay ONE card solution bolsters contactless payments. It also authenticates card holders’ identities via fingerprint recognition as opposed to PIN.

The company plans on marketing the card to other financial services providers not only in Egypt but also in other African regions. MDP also plans on launching other products that will improve contactless payments.

We are proud to be piloting next-generation contactless cards in Egypt for the first time. Seeing a strong interest from our bank clients, we are confident that this first pilot in Egypt, which is with a medium-sized bank, is one of many to come. MDP has always been at the forefront of bringing payment innovations to banks. During the pandemic, we have seen growing demand for touch-less checkout as it is safer and much more hygienic which is exactly what this innovation brings. Zwipe is a global leader in biometric payment technologies, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them. We aim for a pilot in early 2022, followed by a commercial launch
Ahmed Nafei, Vice President of MDP

Over the past few months, MDP and Zwipe have collaborated to provide this product in Egypt. And with the positive response by other financial institutions, Zwipe looks forward to the expansion to other African markets. In July, the firm partnered with ICPS, a remittances and card personalization provider in Mauritius. The company then collaborated with NetPS. IDEX Biometrics provided the fingerprint sensor.

We’ve reported that Visa and Nuvei introduce crypto-friendly debit card.

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