BIO-key and RunLevel Strengthen Identity Security Across Mozambique’s National Payments Infrastructure for Sociedade Interbancária de Moçambique (SIMO)

Rhea-AI Summary

BIO-key (NASDAQ: BKYI) announced a multi-year agreement with Sociedade Interbancária de Moçambique (SIMO) on Feb. 24, 2026 to modernize identity and access security across Mozambique’s national payments network.

Integration will deploy PortalGuard IAM, PIN:You tokenless authentication and SSO via partner RunLevel, building on a May 2025 pilot and marking BIO-key’s 11th banking customer globally.

Positive

• Multi-year agreement with SIMO to modernize national payments identity security (Feb 24, 2026)
• Deployment of PortalGuard, PIN:You tokenless authentication, and SSO across SIMOrede
• Marks BIO-key’s 11th banking and financial sector customer globally

Negative

• None.

Key Figures

Mozambique population: 36.6 million Banking customers: 11th customer

2 metrics

Mozambique population 36.6 million Population referenced as digital banking adoption accelerates

Banking customers 11th customer BIO-key’s 11th banking and financial sector customer globally

Market Reality Check

Price: $0.5407 Vol: Volume 79,638 is about 0....

low vol

$0.5407 Last Close

Volume Volume 79,638 is about 0.01x the 20-day average of 9,318,501, indicating very light trading ahead of this news. low

Technical Shares at $0.5407 are trading below the $0.75 200-day moving average and sit 72.55% under the 52-week high, near the 52-week low.

Peers on Argus

BKYI was down 5.74% while most close peers like IVDA (-4.38%), VRME (-2.83%), an...

1 Up

BKYI was down 5.74% while most close peers like IVDA (-4.38%), VRME (-2.83%), and SPCB (-2.06%) also declined, but GFAI showed strength both on the day (+35.8%) and in momentum scanning (+2.12%), pointing to stock-specific and idiosyncratic moves rather than a unified sector trend.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Jan 29 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Jan 29	India expansion deal	Positive	-4.7%	New Mumbai office and Citadel Global partnership to expand in India.
Jan 28	Portugal contract win	Positive	+34.1%	Contract to secure digital identities for large Portuguese municipality network.
Jan 13	Investor conference	Neutral	-4.1%	DealFlow Discovery conference presentation and investor meetings scheduling.
Dec 23	Conference notice	Neutral	-0.8%	Announcement of upcoming DealFlow Discovery conference participation in 2026.
Dec 08	Product showcase	Positive	+0.6%	Showcasing passwordless, tokenless authentication at Gartner IAM Summit.

Pattern Detected

Recent news often produced sharp but inconsistent reactions: one partnership headline saw a large gain while several conference or presentation items coincided with modest declines.

Recent Company History

Over the past six months, BIO-key has consistently highlighted expansion of its biometric IAM offerings. A Dec 2025 Gartner IAM Summit appearance and multiple DealFlow Discovery conference announcements in Dec 2025 and Jan 2026 focused on investor outreach and product capabilities, with mostly muted to negative price reactions. In contrast, a Jan 28, 2026 Portugal municipality security contract drove a strong 34.07% gain. The Jan 29, 2026 India partnership and office launch drew a -4.72% move, underscoring volatile and sometimes counterintuitive trading around partnership news, relevant context for this new SIMO agreement.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights BIO-key’s expansion in financial infrastructure, adding its 11th bankin...

Analysis

This announcement highlights BIO-key’s expansion in financial infrastructure, adding its 11th banking and financial sector customer through a multi-year SIMO agreement in Mozambique. The deal extends PortalGuard IAM, tokenless authentication, and SSO across a national payments network serving a 36.6 million-person market. In context of prior European and Indian partnerships, investors may monitor contract execution, deployment scale within SIMO’s ecosystem, and how these wins translate into recurring revenue and margin trends over time.

Key Terms

identity and access management, iam, single sign-on, tokenless authentication

4 terms

identity and access management technical

"a global leader in biometric-centric Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions"

Identity and access management is the set of tools and processes that verify who a person or device is and control what digital resources they can use, like a company’s system for issuing security badges and setting which doors each badge opens. It matters to investors because strong identity controls reduce the chance of costly data breaches, regulatory fines and downtime, protect customer trust, and can lower IT costs and operational risk.

iam technical

"first joint IAM deployment in Mozambique, in May 2025, for a major National Bank"

Identity and access management (IAM) is the system and policies a company uses to control who can access its digital systems, data and applications—think of it as the set of keys, locks and visitor rules for a building’s computer network. Strong IAM reduces the risk of data breaches, fraud and regulatory fines, so investors pay attention because weaknesses can lead to costly outages, damage to reputation and legal liabilities that affect a company’s value.

single sign-on technical

"PortalGuard® IAM platform, PIN:You™ tokenless authentication, and Single Sign-On (SSO)"

Single sign-on is a technology that lets a person log in once and then access multiple applications or systems without re-entering credentials, like using one key that opens every door in a building. For investors, it matters because it can reduce IT support costs, speed employee workflows and improve user experience, while also concentrating cybersecurity risk and affecting compliance posture—factors that influence operational efficiency and potential liability.

tokenless authentication technical

"PortalGuard® IAM platform, PIN:You™ tokenless authentication, and Single Sign-On (SSO)"

Tokenless authentication is a way for a system to confirm someone’s identity without issuing or storing a reusable digital key (a “token”). Think of it like unlocking a door with a one-time code, a device handshake, or a biometric scan instead of carrying a permanent key—this reduces the number of things that can be stolen or copied. For investors, it matters because it can lower breach risk, simplify compliance and operations, and improve user trust and retention, all of which affect costs and company value.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Multi-year agreement supports secure digital transformation of banking services and interbank systems

MAPUTO, Mozambique and HOLMDEL, N.J., Feb. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIO-key® International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI), a global leader in biometric-centric Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, today announced a new strategic, multi-year agreement with Sociedade Interbancária de Moçambique (SIMO), the operator of Mozambique’s national electronic payments network. Working in partnership with RunLevel, a specialized regional integrator with identity and cybersecurity experience across Africa, BIO-key will support the modernization of identity and access security across SIMO’s financial ecosystem. The agreement builds on BIO-key’s and RunLevel’s first joint IAM deployment in Mozambique, in May 2025, for a major National Bank.

Under initiative, BIO-key’s PortalGuard® IAM platform, PIN:You™ tokenless authentication, and Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities will be integrated into SIMO’s environment to improve governance, boost cybersecurity resilience, and streamline secure access for institutions participating in the national payments infrastructure.

The agreement supports SIMO’s long-term strategy to adopt enterprise-grade identity security aligned with international best practices while continuing to modernize Mozambique’s financial sector. The deployment represents BIO-key’s 11^th banking and financial sector customer globally.

SIMO plays a key role in Mozambique’s banking system, by enabling interoperability, clearing, and settlement services across banks and financial service providers via the country’s single national electric payments network known as SIMOrede. As digital banking adoption accelerates to serve Mozambique population of 36.6 million, the need for strong, identity-first security has become critical to maintaining trust, operational continuity, and regulatory compliance.

“As Mozambique’s financial system continues to evolve, identity security is vital for ensuring trust, interoperability, and operational resilience across payment services,” said Juna Chiloveque, SIMO’s IT Security and Compliance, CISO. "Partnering with BIO-key and RunLevel allows SIMO to adopt modern identity and access management solutions that strengthen governance, protect essential systems, and support the secure digital transformation of our national payments infrastructure.”

“Partnering with SIMO and BIO-key on this project demonstrates RunLevel’s commitment to strengthening digital trust across Africa’s financial ecosystems,” said Miguel Guerreiro, Managing Partner, RunLevel. “By combining local expertise with advanced IAM technologies, we are helping establish secure authentication foundations that allow banks to innovate confidently while safeguarding critical payment infrastructure.”

“Our collaboration with SIMO marks an important step in supporting secure digital banking infrastructure in Mozambique,” said Alex Rocha, BIO-key’s Managing Director – International. “Together with RunLevel, we are deploying scalable IAM technologies that help financial institutions modernize access, reduce identity risks, and enable trusted digital services across the ecosystem.”

About Sociedade Interbancária de Moçambique (SIMO) (https://www.bancomoc.mz/en/)
SIMO manages the country’s unified electronic payments system, enabling secure clearing, settlement, and interoperability across Mozambique’s banking and financial services network. SIMO plays an important role in advancing financial inclusion and digital transformation nationwide.

About Runlevel (www.runlevel.pt)
Runlevel is a specialized cybersecurity solutions provider focusing on Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) and Timor-Leste. The company delivers advanced IT security, infrastructure, and compliance solutions, helping organizations navigate the evolving cybersecurity landscape with best-in-class technology and expert consulting services.

About BIO-key International, Inc. (www.BIO-key.com)
BIO-key is revolutionizing authentication and cybersecurity with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) software securing access for over forty million users. BIO-key allows customers to choose the right authentication factors for diverse use cases, including phoneless, tokenless, and passwordless biometric options. Its cloud-hosted or on-premise PortalGuard IAM solution provides cost-effective, easy-to-deploy, convenient, and secure access to computers, information, applications, and high-value transactions.

BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement

All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "estimate," "project," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," "believes" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Act. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those included within or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include factors set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Engage with BIO-key:
LinkedIn – Corporate:	https://www.linkedin.com/company/bio-key-international
X – Corporate:	@BIOkeyIntl
X – Investors:	@BIO_keyIR
StockTwits:	BIO_keyIR

BIO-key Resources:
https://www.bio-key.com/portalguard-2/
https://www.bio-key.com/biometrics/
https://www.bio-key.com/hardware/

Investor Contacts:
William Jones, David Collins Catalyst IR
BKYI@catalyst-ir.com or 212-924-9800

FAQ

What did BIO-key (BKYI) announce about Mozambique’s national payments network on Feb. 24, 2026?

BIO-key announced a multi-year agreement to modernize identity security for SIMO’s national payments network. According to BIO-key, the deployment will integrate PortalGuard IAM, PIN:You tokenless authentication and Single Sign-On with regional integrator RunLevel to strengthen access governance.

Which BIO-key products will be deployed under the SIMO agreement (BKYI)?

The deployment will include PortalGuard IAM, PIN:You tokenless authentication, and Single Sign-On. According to BIO-key, these technologies will be integrated into SIMO’s environment to improve governance, resilience, and secure access for institutions on the SIMOrede network.

How does the SIMO deal affect BIO-key’s banking footprint (BKYI)?

The agreement represents BIO-key’s 11th banking and financial sector customer globally. According to BIO-key, it builds on a May 2025 joint IAM deployment in Mozambique and expands the company’s presence in African financial ecosystems.

Who is RunLevel and what role does it play in the BKYI–SIMO project?

RunLevel is a regional integrator with identity and cybersecurity experience across Africa supporting the SIMO deployment. According to BIO-key, RunLevel will partner on integration, combining local expertise with BIO-key’s IAM technologies to implement the solution.

What objectives does SIMO aim to achieve with the BIO-key (BKYI) implementation?

SIMO aims to adopt enterprise-grade identity security aligned with international best practices to support modernization. According to SIMO, the initiative will strengthen governance, protect essential systems, and support secure digital transformation of the national payments infrastructure.