The banking and payments industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation owing to ever-changing consumer expectations. The rapid technological developments in the areas of banking and payments that aim to offer seamless experience to consumers are now becoming even more vital for industry participants as competitors leverage new technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, cybersecurity, and embedded finance as they compete to stay relevant and grow in the market. In the last three years alone, there have been over 92,000 patents filed and granted in the banking industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cybersecurity in Banking: biometric payer/payee verification.  Buy the report here.

However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity. 

Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have. 

60+ innovations will shape the banking industry 

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the banking industry using innovation intensity models built on over 195,000 patents, there are 60+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry. 

Biometric payments, encryption for secure transmission, and public key encryption protocols are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are biometric payer/payee verification and voice-based payer/payee authentication, which are now well established in the industry.  

Innovation S-curve for cybersecurity in the banking industry 

Biometric payer/payee verification is a key innovation area in cybersecurity 

Biometric payer/payee verification allows an individual to be identified by assessing one or more unique characteristics such as fingerprints, facial features, iris patterns, voice prints and written signatures. 

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 40+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established banking companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of biometric payer/payee verification. 

Key players in biometric payer/payee verification– a disruptive innovation in the banking industry   

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators. 

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’. 

Patent volumes related to biometric payer/payee verification

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Digimarc 85 Unlock Company Profile
Mastercard 52 Unlock Company Profile
Dominion Harbor Enterprises 31 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 30 Unlock Company Profile
SoftBank Group 29 Unlock Company Profile
Capital One Financial 29 Unlock Company Profile
Universal Secure Registry 27 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 24 Unlock Company Profile
PayPal Holdings 20 Unlock Company Profile
Inmar 19 Unlock Company Profile
Cubic 18 Unlock Company Profile
Clear Secure 17 Unlock Company Profile
Proxense 15 Unlock Company Profile
Rococo 12 Unlock Company Profile
AT&T 12 Unlock Company Profile
Fingerprint Cards AB 11 Unlock Company Profile
Localiza Rent A Car 11 Unlock Company Profile
Bank of America 11 Unlock Company Profile
Visa 10 Unlock Company Profile
Charter Pacific 10 Unlock Company Profile
Princeton Identity 9 Unlock Company Profile
Samuel Garfield 9 Unlock Company Profile
Zwipe 8 Unlock Company Profile
Furukawa 8 Unlock Company Profile
Authentify 8 Unlock Company Profile
Diebold Nixdorf 7 Unlock Company Profile
International Business Machines 7 Unlock Company Profile
Natural Security 7 Unlock Company Profile
Tencent Holdings 6 Unlock Company Profile
NEC 6 Unlock Company Profile
Blackhawk Network Holdings 6 Unlock Company Profile
VeriSign 6 Unlock Company Profile
Precise Biometrics 6 Unlock Company Profile
BlackBerry 6 Unlock Company Profile
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art 6 Unlock Company Profile
Amazon.com 5 Unlock Company Profile
StubHub 5 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 5 Unlock Company Profile
Live Nation Entertainment 5 Unlock Company Profile
Oki Electric Industry 5 Unlock Company Profile
Walmart 5 Unlock Company Profile
Beijing Mobike Technology 5 Unlock Company Profile
Open Invention Network 5 Unlock Company Profile
Smiley Owl Tech 5 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Mastercard is one of the leading patent filers in biometric verification. The company filed a patent for a credit card with built-in sensor, which recognises biometric information through a fingerprint sensor available on the payment card, stores and authenticates data with the help of a secure processor. Some other key patent filers in biometric verification include Digimarc, Dominion Harbour, Toshiba, SoftBank Group, and Capital One. 

In terms of application diversity, Digimarc leads the pack. VeriSign and Princeton Identity stood in the second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Toshiba holds the top position, followed by Samuel Garfield and BlackBerry

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the banking industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cybersecurity in Banking

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.