The retail industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by convenience, technology, and security, and the growing importance of technologies such as QR codes, RFID technology, and cashierless stores. In the last three years alone, there have been over 59,000 patents filed and granted in the retail industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Online payments in retail: contactless payments. Buy the report here.

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Data Insights Online Payments in Retail: Contactless payments

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 126,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the retail industry, there are 50+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Contactless payments is a key innovation area in online payments 

Contactless payment systems allow customers to make secure payments through cards (credit, debit and smart cards), key fobs, or other devices, including smartphones, using radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) technology.  

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 105+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established retail companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of contactless payments. 

Key players in contactless payments – a disruptive innovation in the retail 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 contactless payments

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Capital One Financial 236 Unlock Company Profile
AB Dynamics 115 Unlock Company Profile
DeviceFidelity 106 Unlock Company Profile
Digimarc 75 Unlock Company Profile
iCashe 65 Unlock Company Profile
Blackhawk Network 62 Unlock Company Profile
Angel Playing Cards 47 Unlock Company Profile
Bank of America 46 Unlock Company Profile
Visa 45 Unlock Company Profile
Jj Mackay Canada 38 Unlock Company Profile
West View Research 35 Unlock Company Profile
Tyfone 34 Unlock Company Profile
Mastercard 26 Unlock Company Profile
International Business Machines 25 Unlock Company Profile
SSenStone 25 Unlock Company Profile
Toshiba 24 Unlock Company Profile
STMicroelectronics 23 Unlock Company Profile
Thales 23 Unlock Company Profile
CompoSecure 22 Unlock Company Profile
Block 20 Unlock Company Profile
BrilliantTS 17 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 16 Unlock Company Profile
MC Familiengesellschaft 16 Unlock Company Profile
Fidelity National Information Services 16 Unlock Company Profile
Koninklijke Philips 15 Unlock Company Profile
Kona I 14 Unlock Company Profile
NXP Semiconductors 14 Unlock Company Profile
American Express 14 Unlock Company Profile
Dominion Harbor Enterprises 14 Unlock Company Profile
Bundesdruckerei 12 Unlock Company Profile
Wells Fargo 12 Unlock Company Profile
The Swatch Group 11 Unlock Company Profile
Zwipe AS 10 Unlock Company Profile
Feitian Technologies 10 Unlock Company Profile
Dashpass 10 Unlock Company Profile
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone 10 Unlock Company Profile
Elan Microelectronics 9 Unlock Company Profile
PrivaSys 8 Unlock Company Profile
Rambus 8 Unlock Company Profile
Infineon Technologies 8 Unlock Company Profile
Tactilis 7 Unlock Company Profile
Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication 7 Unlock Company Profile
Tactilis 7 Unlock Company Profile
SAP 6 Unlock Company Profile
LG 6 Unlock Company Profile
IDEMIA France 6 Unlock Company Profile
Deutsche Telekom 6 Unlock Company Profile
Neology 6 Unlock Company Profile
Ellipse World 6 Unlock Company Profile
PayPal 6 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Capital One Financial is the leading patent filer in contactless payment systems. Some other key patent filers in the space include AB Dynamics, DeviceFidelity, Digimarc, iCashe, Angel Playing Cards, Visa, and Tyfone. Eltropy, a leading platform for digital communications for community financial institutions (CFIs), announced a partnership with Tyfone allowing their mutual credit union and community bank clients to communicate with members more effectively. This will provide an enhanced accountholder experience within the Tyfone nFinia™ digital banking platform for browsers, mobile devices, wearables, and voice assistants.

In terms of application diversity, CompoSecure leads the pack. Digimarc and Angel Playing Cards stood in the second and third positions, respectively.

By means of geographic reach, Angel Playing Cards held the top position, followed by West View Research and SSenStone.

Contactless payment systems will increasingly gain popularity in the retail sector due to the convenience offered. Also, factors such as security and safety will play important roles in the technology’s quick adoption.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the retail industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Online Payments in Retail

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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.