Masria Digital Payments (MDP), one of the largest smart card manufacturers and digital payments providers in the Middle East and Africa, has selected biometric payment solutions from Zwipe to power its next wave of innovation, according to a company announcement.
Zwipe will support MDP in the integration and rollout of biometric payment cards, and subsequently biometric-enabled wearable devices in the region. Interest in biometric payment solutions, and biometric payment cards in particular, is significant in the Middle East and North African markets, according to the announcement.
“To continue MDP’s long tradition of technology leadership, we are integrating Zwipe’s current biometric payment platform now to educate the market and get prepared for Zwipe Pay ONE,” comments Ahmed Nafie, EVP of MDP. “We are confident that, when that becomes available, we will have banks across the region ready to take the next natural step in payment cards with us.”
MDP has a regional presence in 35 countries across 3 continents, and claims it is the only end-to-end fully certified African payments technology provider that offers full card services, solutions, processing, and digital payment suites.
“Zwipe is thrilled to win a new strategic customer wanting to pilot our current product platform to pave the way for early deployment of our future offering, Zwipe Pay ONE. Working together we can unlock many opportunities in a part of the world that is proving to be a first mover when it comes to biometric payments,” says André Løvestam, CEO of Zwipe.
Zwipe signed an exclusive deal with Idemia on smart card development and distribution last September, and launched a what it calls a starter kit for bringing biometric smart card projects to mass market in November.
Goode Intelligence forecasts close to 579 million biometric payment cards will be issued by 2023.
