Zwipe AS — Earnings Release 2023

Jun 21, 2023

Zwipe AS: new streamlining plan to accelerate path toward profitability

Zwipe AS: new streamlining plan to accelerate path toward profitability

OSLO, NORWAY - 21 June 2023 - Zwipe AS today announces a streamlining to

accelerate its path toward profitability in the medium term. Excluding one-off

fundraising costs incurred in 2023, these initiatives are expected to reduce the

group's operating costs in 2023 by approximately NOK 14 million compared to 2022

and lower the cost base by approximately NOK 35 million on an annual basis. The

initiatives will commence immediately, and planned improvements are expected to

have full impact from the fourth quarter of 2023. 15 employees will leave the

company as a consequence.

Following decisions taken at the end of the first quarter to freeze new hiring

and reduce planned expenditures in 2023, the company has now completed an

internal review aiming to optimize global operations and reduce overall costs.

In this effort to ensure long-term, sustainable growth, Zwipe has identified

cost-saving initiatives including reductions of staff, lessening of R&D-related

activities, restructuring of offices and subsidiaries, reduced external

marketing activities, and general reductions in other operating expenditures.

As previously communicated, the development of both the Zwipe Pay and Zwipe

Access products has largely been completed. Zwipe Pay has been fully certified

by both Visa and Mastercard, mobile enrollment solutions have been finalized,

and Zwipe Pay is fully ready for commercial deployment. Similarly, Zwipe Access

has now been validated for integration into the HID and Legic access control

systems and the product is ready for commercial deployment. As the company's

focus naturally shifts from R&D to commercialization, less development and

technical support resources are needed.

On the commercial side for Zwipe Pay, while broader market adoption of biometric

payment cards has been slower than we and others in the industry anticipated,

Zwipe continues to believe that the market is very close to an inflection point.

Zwipe has achieved several significant milestones recently with the first bank

issuers announcing commercial launches, and we anticipate this will accelerate

in the second half of 2023. Zwipe Access has very strong momentum with several

proofs of concept recently having been launched and substantially more in the

pipeline. As a consequence of this streamlining, resources within the company

will thus be allocated more towards commercialization efforts: executing more

Zwipe Pay pilots and initial launches, getting more signed SCMs mass production

ready, signing more distribution partners for Zwipe Access, and executing

integrations of Zwipe Access with end customers.

Owing to the already completed development efforts carried out for Zwipe Pay and

Zwipe Access, this streamlining plan is not expected to affect Zwipe's ability

to serve its customers and partners. The company remains committed to a best-in

-class customer experience and providing value-added services and expertise

across the payment card and access control value chains.

"This streamlining plan allows us to focus on our commercial objectives for both

Zwipe Pay and Zwipe Access while also reducing our overhead costs, ensuring that

we are organized in an efficient and agile manner, giving us more financial

flexibility, and positioning the company for profitable growth. While it is very

difficult to let some of our valued and highly regarded employees go, we believe

this decision is necessary as we position ourselves for sustainable growth in

the medium and long term" says Robert Puskaric, CEO of Zwipe AS.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements in the Market Abuse

Regulation (EU 596/2014) and the Norwegian Securities Trading Act section 5-12,

and is information that Zwipe AS is obligated to make public pursuant to the

continuing obligations of companies admitted to trading on Euronext Growth Oslo

(Euronext Growth Oslo Rule Book - Part II) and on Nasdaq First North Growth

Market. Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se.

The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact

person set out below, at 08:00 on 21 June 2023.

About Zwipe

Zwipe believes the inherent uniqueness of every person is the key to a safer

future. We work with great passion across networks of international

organizations, industries and cultures to make convenience safe and secure. We

are pioneering next-generation biometric card for payment and physical & logical

access control and identification solutions. We promise our customers and

partners deep insight and frictionless solutions, ensuring a seamless user

experience with our innovative biometric products and services. Zwipe is

headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with a global presence.  To learn more, visit

http://www.zwipe.com.

For more information, please contact:

Danielle Glenn, CFO and Head of IR

ir@zwipe.com