Posts Tagged: "Apple Pay"

The model for implementing digital wallets has largely relied upon what is known as the four-corner payment model by incorporating the use of payment cards, such as debit cards. Market research firm Research and Markets has reported that nearly three-quarters of all mobile digital wallets are funded by payment cards. By the end of 2013, 22 percent of the world’s population owned a smartphone, so it’s not inconceivable to think of a time in the future where credit and debit cards will become obviated by near-field communications (NFC) payment systems on smartphones entirely, despite the major rollout of payment cards with EMV computer chips by financial institutions. Today, we’ll take a look at the top three contenders in the mobile payment world to see what we can expect from each in the coming months.

The Apple Pay mobile payment service created by the company should get an important security upgrade through the technology described within U.S. Patent Application No. 20150127549, which is titled Using Biometric Authentication for NFC-Based Payments. The electronic device claime includes a secure element with a payment applet and a processor which is configured to compare local authentication information for the device with stored authentication information. The processor also provides local validation information for the device to allow a payment applet to conduct a financial shopping center servicestransaction. This system relates to secure mobile payments and works without requiring a user to manually input authentication information for each transaction.

Softcard’s patents and their ability to protect Google Wallet against any potential legal challenges from Apple may be a much more important aspect of the acquisition than Softcard itself, which had struggled financially and laid off workers in the weeks leading up to Google’s purchase. There are many reasons for Softcard’s woes, including a need to rebrand the company after its original name, Isis, was co-opted by the Middle Eastern terrorist organization.