SICPA
SICPA is a Swiss private technology company founded in 1927 that secures the majority of the world's banknotes through proprietary security inks, taggants, and integrated track-and-trace and digital identity solutions. It serves governments, central banks, tax authorities, and consumer brands globally across 38 offices.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1927
- HeadquartersPrilly, Switzerland
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What SICPA does
SICPA is a privately held Swiss technology company founded in 1927 and headquartered in Prilly, Switzerland. It is best known for securing the majority of the world's banknotes through proprietary security inks and taggant technologies, including Optically Variable Inks (OVI) and covert authentication markers. The company operates across five continents with 38 offices and approximately 3,000+ staff of 84 nationalities, serving sovereign governments, central banks, tax and revenue authorities, consumer brands, and identity authorities.
SICPA's product portfolio spans four core domains: Currency Solutions (security inks for banknotes and security documents), Revenue Mobilisation & Conformity (government track-and-trace systems for excise duty collection such as the UK HMRC vaping duty stamps contract), Product & Brand Protection (security labels, packaging solutions, and authentication), and Identity & Compliance, which includes the OLOMEE decentralized digital identity platform supporting W3C, SD-JWT, and ISO 18013-5 standards. Underpinning these is the Digital Sovereignty Platform, a modular architecture unifying physical and digital systems for governments. Core proprietary technology rests on chemically engineered security inks and taggants validated through an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited testing laboratory.
SICPA generates revenue through a mix of one-time licenses for security inks and solutions, managed services for revenue mobilization contracts, and subscription/recurring revenue for brand protection and digital identity solutions. Go-to-market is exclusively enterprise field sales targeting governments and regulated industries through long procurement cycles. Notable customers include HMRC (UK), the Federal Government of Nigeria (PATS system), and central banks globally. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is led by Philippe Amon as Chairman and CEO, with Maurice Amon as founder.
SICPA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SICPA
- Legal name
- SICPA HOLDING SA
- Website
- https://sicpa.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1927
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- SICPA is a Swiss private technology company founded in 1927 that secures the majority of the world's banknotes through proprietary security inks, taggants, and integrated track-and-trace and digital identity solutions. It serves governments, central banks, tax authorities, and consumer brands globally across 38 offices.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SICPA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Security Inks & Authentication Solutions
- NAICS
- Printing Ink Manufacturing (32591)
- SIC
- Communications Equipment, Nec (3669)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms (BPAMAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) & Passwordless Authentication (HDAEAJAC)
Keywords
Where SICPA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Prilly
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
SICPA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Security Inks and Solutions: Sale of proprietary security inks, taggants, and authentication solutions for currency, security documents, and brand protection applications
- Revenue Mobilization Solutions: Government track-and-trace systems for excise duty collection and market compliance, including vape duty stamps and pharmaceutical serialization
- Product and Brand Protection: Authenticated security solutions for brands including security labels, packaging solutions, and product authentication
- Digital Identity Solutions: Decentralized identity platform providing issuance, verification, and management of digital credentials for governments and organizations
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
SICPA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SICPA develops and supplies security inks, security features, and integrated track-and-trace solutions for currencies, tax stamps, and consumer goods. Its portfolio includes security inks and labels for banknotes, tax/excise stamp programmes for revenue authorities, product authentication solutions for brand owners, the Digital Sovereignty Platform for national digital identity infrastructure, and the OLOMEE digital identity solution for governments.
Product overview
SICPA offers an integrated platform of security solutions spanning physical and digital domains. The core portfolio includes Currency Solutions (security inks for banknotes and security documents), Revenue Mobilisation & Conformity (government revenue collection and traceability), Product & Brand Protection (security labels, packaging solutions, product security), and Identity & Compliance (digital identity solutions). Under the Identity & Compliance umbrella, OLOMEE provides a decentralized digital identity solution for credential generation, issuance, and verification. The Digital Sovereignty Platform unifies physical and digital systems for government control. Security Inks form the foundational technology underpinning multiple product lines. The offering operates as a unified platform with modular solutions addressing currency, revenue, brand protection, and identity needs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SICPA Digital Identity: SICPA's digital identity solution enabling governments and organizations to create and deploy trust-based digital ecosystems while preserving sovereignty and data privacy.
- OLOMEE
Products and services
- Currency Solutions Provides security inks, OVI and other certified security features, substrates and components for central banks and state security printers producing banknotes and secure documents.
- Revenue Mobilisation & Conformity Integrated tax-stamp, excise-stamp, and digital track-and-trace programmes using Molecular Tracer taggants and secure marking to help national tax, customs, and excise authorities assure revenue collection and combat illicit trade.
- Product & Brand Protection
- Digital Sovereignty Platform
- OLOMEE Digital Identity Solution
- Security Inks Proprietary security inks including Optically Variable Ink and other certified colour-shifting and authentication inks supplied to central banks, security printers, tax authorities and brand owners.
Companies that use SICPA
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SICPA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
SICPA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Government of KyrgyzstanminorKyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov met with Philippe Amon, Chairman and CEO of SICPA SA, to discuss joint projects and potential for innovative solutions in the country.
- Cartor Security PrinterscoreSICPA partnered with Cartor Security Printers (a subsidiary of Spectra Systems Corporation) to deliver duty stamps and track-and-trace solutions for the UK vaping duty stamps program to HMRC. The consortium will provide banknote-grade security features combined with digital systems to support excise duty collection and combat illicit vape trade. Implementation will begin with transitional duty stamps from April 2026 and full track-and-trace from October 2026.
- EPFL Innovation Park, Trust Valley, Canton de VaudminorSICPA is a partner in the Trust Village Incubator program in Switzerland, a six-month initiative powered by EPFL Innovation Park, Trust Valley, SICPA, and Canton de Vaud. The program supports Trust Stamp's privacy-preserving identity technology and European go-to-market strategy, with alignment to European digital trust frameworks including eIDAS 2.0.
- ZoomInfo Technologies LLCminorSICPA uses ZoomInfo as a third-party business intelligence provider to collect professional and business-related information about website visitors, including information related to professional capacity, to support B2B marketing and sales activities.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SICPA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- De La Rue: UK-based global security printer and producer of banknotes, tax stamps, and authentication solutions. Most direct competitor in currency security inks, tax stamps, and identity documents — overlapping SICPA across nearly every product line.
- Giesecke+Devrient (G+D): German family-owned security tech firm offering banknote substrates, security features, digital identity (Veridos JV), and payment solutions. Closest like-for-like competitor in the integrated currency + identity platform play.
- IDEMIA: France-based leader in secure identity, biometric authentication, and government credentialing. Directly competes with SICPA's OLOMEE digital identity offering and security document issuance for governments.
- Crane NXT: US-listed provider of currency processing, authentication, and brand protection solutions (parent of Crane Currency). Directly competes with SICPA in security features for banknotes and brand-protection micro-optics.
- Oberthur Fiduciaire: France-based security printer specializing in banknotes, identity documents, and tax stamps. Direct competitor in the same European security-printing market as SICPA.
- Veridos: Joint venture of G+D and Bundesdruckerei providing government-issued identity documents and digital ID solutions. Directly comparable to OLOMEE and SICPA's identity & compliance line for sovereign customers.
- KBA-Notasys: Koenig & Bauer subsidiary specializing in banknote and security printing systems and inks. Direct competitor in the manufacturing equipment and security inks portion of SICPA's currency business.
Broad incumbents
- Thales Group (Gemalto): Global technology incumbent with a Digital Identity & Security segment (inheriting Gemalto) covering government IDs, biometrics, and authentication. Broad incumbent in SICPA's identity and authentication space with deeper balance sheet and broader portfolio.
- HID Global (Assa Abloy): US-based identity and authentication solutions provider within Assa Abloy, offering secure card issuance, RFID/NFC authentication tokens, and identity management. Overlaps with SICPA's taggant/authentication and digital identity offerings at the component level.
Emerging players
- Au10tix: Israel-based identity verification and authentication platform for enterprises and governments. Emerging competitor in the digital identity verification layer that overlaps with OLOMEE's use cases.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SICPA social profiles
Digital presenceSICPA compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance9 records
SICPA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SICPA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
SICPA subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
SICPA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SICPA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments7 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SICPA
What does SICPA do?
SICPA develops and supplies security inks, security features, and integrated track-and-trace solutions for currencies, tax stamps, and consumer goods. Its portfolio includes security inks and labels for banknotes, tax/excise stamp programmes for revenue authorities, product authentication solutions for brand owners, the Digital Sovereignty Platform for national digital identity infrastructure, and the OLOMEE digital identity solution for governments.
Is SICPA a public or private company?
SICPA is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was SICPA founded?
SICPA was founded in 1927. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is SICPA based?
SICPA is headquartered in Prilly, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does SICPA make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Security Inks and Solutions are the primary driver. The others are revenue Mobilization Solutions, product and Brand Protection and digital Identity Solutions.
Who are SICPA's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are De La Rue, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), IDEMIA, Crane NXT, Oberthur Fiduciaire, Veridos and KBA-Notasys. Broad incumbents are Thales Group (Gemalto) and HID Global (Assa Abloy). Au10tix is listed as an emerging player.
Does SICPA have an API?
No public API is recorded for SICPA.
What industry is SICPA in?
SICPA's product category is Security Inks & Authentication Solutions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAEAE, Authentication (MFA/Passwordless/Biometrics) Platforms, with a secondary code of HDAEAJAC, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) & Passwordless Authentication. Its NAICS code is 32591 and its SIC code is 3669.