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 payments. 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 payments is a key innovation area in cybersecurity

Biometric payment is a system that allows individuals to make payments using biometrics such as fingerprint, iris and facial scan. Once verified, the funds are deducted from the linked payment method such as a payment card or bank account.

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 50 companies, spanning technology vendors, established banking companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of biometric payments.

Key players in biometric payments– 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 payments

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
SoftBank Group 231 Unlock Company Profile
Intel 170 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 96 Unlock Company Profile
LG 76 Unlock Company Profile
Alphabet 56 Unlock Company Profile
Capital One Financial 50 Unlock Company Profile
Mastercard 46 Unlock Company Profile
Visa 45 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 41 Unlock Company Profile
NEC 38 Unlock Company Profile
IDEX 33 Unlock Company Profile
Huawei Investment & Holding 31 Unlock Company Profile
GuangDong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications 31 Unlock Company Profile
Apple 31 Unlock Company Profile
Xiaomi 28 Unlock Company Profile
Veridium IP 28 Unlock Company Profile
Zwipe 26 Unlock Company Profile
Fingerprint Cards AB 25 Unlock Company Profile
Tencent Holdings 24 Unlock Company Profile
Skeyecode 23 Unlock Company Profile
Ant Group 21 Unlock Company Profile
Beijing Electronics Holding 21 Unlock Company Profile
Accel Robotics 20 Unlock Company Profile
China UnionPay 19 Unlock Company Profile
FaceTec 19 Unlock Company Profile
JPMorgan Chase 19 Unlock Company Profile
China Investment 17 Unlock Company Profile
Magic Leap 16 Unlock Company Profile
Clear Secure 16 Unlock Company Profile
UniCredit 16 Unlock Company Profile
Amazon.com 15 Unlock Company Profile
Safran 15 Unlock Company Profile
Grabango 15 Unlock Company Profile
Qualcomm 15 Unlock Company Profile
Thales 14 Unlock Company Profile
Jumio 14 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic 13 Unlock Company Profile
Bank of America 13 Unlock Company Profile
AT&T 13 Unlock Company Profile
Walmart 12 Unlock Company Profile
iProov 12 Unlock Company Profile
International Business Machines 11 Unlock Company Profile
Localiza Rent A Car 11 Unlock Company Profile
Microsoft 11 Unlock Company Profile
NCR 10 Unlock Company Profile
Istituto Poligrafico E Zecca Dello Stato 10 Unlock Company Profile
Legend Holdings 10 Unlock Company Profile
Tactilis 10 Unlock Company Profile
K.K. Aristocrat Technologies 9 Unlock Company Profile
Yoti 9 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

SoftBank Group is one of the leading patent filers in the space of biometric payments. The company has a patent filed that offers a method for security verification based on a biometric feature. Once the verification is received, the biometric information is matched against a pre-generated biometric database comprising a plurality of biometric information such as facial feature, iris, or fingerprint, to determine whether the biometric database comprises the obtained biometric information. Some other key patent filers in this space include Intel, Samsung, LG, Alphabet, and Capital One Financial.

In terms of application diversity, K.K. Aristocrat Technologies leads the pack. Skeyecode and Microsoft stand in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Apple holds the top position, followed by Istituto Poligrafico E Zecca Dello Stato and Magic Leap.

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.