The banking industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by digitalization, enhanced security, operational efficiency, ever changing consumer expectations, and growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity. In the last three years alone, there have been over 129,000 patents filed and granted in the banking industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cybersecurity in banking: payment card cryptography. 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 stabilizing 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.

30+ 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 165,000 patents, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Within the emerging innovation stage, distributed ledger transactions is a disruptive technology that is in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Voice-based authentication, geofenced transactions, and embedded secure elements are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing.

Innovation S-curve for cybersecurity in the banking industry

Payment card cryptography is a key innovation area in cybersecurity

Payment card cryptography refers to the use of cryptographic techniques to secure payment transactions made using credit or debit cards. This includes the use of dynamic authentication values, verification from a first party to a second party using suitably programmed computing apparatus, and posting of auditable, immutable data to a blockchain. The technology aims to prevent fraudulent use of payment cards and ensure the security of financial transactions.

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 340+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established banking companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of payment card cryptography.

Key players in payment card cryptography – a disruptive innovation in the banking industry

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

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

Patent volumes related to payment card cryptography

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
nChain 322 Unlock Company Profile
Alibaba Group 183 Unlock Company Profile
Mastercard 120 Unlock Company Profile
Capital One Financial 116 Unlock Company Profile
DeviceFidelity 106 Unlock Company Profile
Sony Group 83 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 74 Unlock Company Profile
Advanced New Technologies 56 Unlock Company Profile
Visa 53 Unlock Company Profile
Bundesdruckerei 38 Unlock Company Profile
BlackBerry 37 Unlock Company Profile
Overstock.com 37 Unlock Company Profile
Microsoft 34 Unlock Company Profile
Nokia 33 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 29 Unlock Company Profile
Coinbase Global 27 Unlock Company Profile
International Business Machines 26 Unlock Company Profile
PayPal 26 Unlock Company Profile
Tencent 26 Unlock Company Profile
MC Familiengesellschaft 24 Unlock Company Profile
Thales 24 Unlock Company Profile
SoftBank Group 23 Unlock Company Profile
JPMorgan Chase 22 Unlock Company Profile
Shinhan Financial Group 21 Unlock Company Profile
Bank of America 20 Unlock Company Profile
TBCASoft 20 Unlock Company Profile
BCE 19 Unlock Company Profile
NXP Semiconductors 19 Unlock Company Profile
IDEMIA France 19 Unlock Company Profile
Nti 19 Unlock Company Profile
Giesecke+Devrient 17 Unlock Company Profile
FeliCa Networks 17 Unlock Company Profile
Bizmodeline 16 Unlock Company Profile
Orange 16 Unlock Company Profile
Crusoe Energy Systems 15 Unlock Company Profile
Coinplug 15 Unlock Company Profile
Deutsche Telekom 15 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic 15 Unlock Company Profile
Tytonical 15 Unlock Company Profile
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone 14 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Card 14 Unlock Company Profile
NEC 14 Unlock Company Profile
KB Financial Group 13 Unlock Company Profile
Dell Technologies 13 Unlock Company Profile
Alphabet 12 Unlock Company Profile
Coca-Cola 12 Unlock Company Profile
Lukka 12 Unlock Company Profile
Algorand 12 Unlock Company Profile
Anchor Labs 12 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Motor 12 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Among the companies innovating in payment card cryptography, nChain is one of the leading patent filers. Some of the patents filed by the company are related to advanced multi-factor authentication and payment verification solutions for blockchain implemented transfers, and methods and systems of secure data record distribution using blockchain. Other prominent patent filers in the payment card cryptography space include Alibaba Group, Mastercard, and Capital One Financial.

In terms of application diversity, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone held the top position, while NEC and Bundesdruckerei stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, DeviceFidelity leads the pack, followed by BCE and Crusoe Energy Systems.

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.