The customers of Kuwait International Bank (KIB) can now benefit from the convenience and ease of use of a contactless payment card supplemented with the security of biometric authentication
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Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has added a biometric identification function to its premium Visa Infinite Black cards.
The feature is enabled by the biometric technology developed by Norway-based fintech Zwipe. The company has been working on its ‘next-generation’ biometric card and wearables technology for payments, physical & logical access control and identification solutions since 2009.
The cards themselves will be produced by Inkript, one of Zwipe’s partners in the region.
Zwipe’s cards and wearables are “battery-less, contactless, ultra-low power, and self-contained”, meaning that encrypted data are stored on the device only.
The biometric payment card technology Zwipe Pay, approved by Visa, has been piloted by various banks in Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, India, Mexico and Egypt since October 2021. However, KIB has become the first bank to commercially roll out biometric payment cards using Zwipe’s tech, according to the press release.
KIB is a public Islamic bank operating since 1973. It has around 20 branches across the country, being amongst the fastest-growing financial institutions in Kuwait.
The newly-introduced biometric payment card will allow KIB’s VIP cardholders to authenticate contactless payments at the point of sale with their fingerprints. According to the bank, the new payment method will add value to their lifestyle, complementing the existing features of the bank’s premium product.
Biometric cards have strong potential in global markets, being previously introduced by various institutions in Jordan, Sweden, Mexico, Turkey, Poland, and different countries of Africa among others. They receive a welcoming response from customers too, with 4 out of 5 consumers worldwide ready to use biometric payment cards.
