The retail industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by data analytics, convenience, social responsibility, e-commerce, supply chain risk management and the growing importance of technologies such as augmented, virtual and mixed reality, among other AI-based technologies. 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: NFC payments. Buy the report here.

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Data Insights Online Payments in Retail: NFC 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.

NFC payments is a key emerging innovation area in online payments

Near field communication (NFC) payments is a form of contactless payment through mobile wallets such as Google Pay and Apple Pay using NFC technology to transfer data between devices making the payment and readers.

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

Key players in NFC 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 NFC payments

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Huawei Investment & Holding 85 Unlock Company Profile
China UnionPay 18 Unlock Company Profile
Mastercard 25 Unlock Company Profile
DeviceFidelity 11 Unlock Company Profile
PayPal 21 Unlock Company Profile
Shinhan Financial Group 7 Unlock Company Profile
Block 44 Unlock Company Profile
ZTE 40 Unlock Company Profile
Fidelity National Information Services 13 Unlock Company Profile
Visa 20 Unlock Company Profile
Qualcomm 21 Unlock Company Profile
Cubic 24 Unlock Company Profile
Alphabet 68 Unlock Company Profile
Capital One Financial 163 Unlock Company Profile
The Swatch Group 12 Unlock Company Profile
Apple 19 Unlock Company Profile
NXP Semiconductors 42 Unlock Company Profile
Alibaba Group 18 Unlock Company Profile
Fiserv 23 Unlock Company Profile
Bank of America 8 Unlock Company Profile
Kudelski 40 Unlock Company Profile
British American Tobacco 11 Unlock Company Profile
Koninklijke Philips 15 Unlock Company Profile
Nokia 37 Unlock Company Profile
Canon 24 Unlock Company Profile
TIS 16 Unlock Company Profile
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson 8 Unlock Company Profile
Verimatrix 46 Unlock Company Profile
Worldline 11 Unlock Company Profile
LG 36 Unlock Company Profile
STMicroelectronics 36 Unlock Company Profile
Broadcom 20 Unlock Company Profile
INSIDE Contactless 12 Unlock Company Profile
Huizhou TCL Mobile Communication 7 Unlock Company Profile
Intel 42 Unlock Company Profile
ThinkPool 8 Unlock Company Profile
FeliCa Networks 20 Unlock Company Profile
Snap 10 Unlock Company Profile
Allegion 9 Unlock Company Profile
Princo 8 Unlock Company Profile
Blaze Mobile 75 Unlock Company Profile
Tyfone 23 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 314 Unlock Company Profile
Zume 9 Unlock Company Profile
Xiaomi 8 Unlock Company Profile
Syndefense 34 Unlock Company Profile
Bizmodeline 9 Unlock Company Profile
The Cauldron London 17 Unlock Company Profile
MC Familiengesellschaft 8 Unlock Company Profile
iCashe 25 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

The leading players in the NFC payments space in terms of patents filed for retail sector are Samsung Group, Capital One Financial, Huawei Investment, Blaze Mobile and Alphabet. Samsung Pay or Samsung Wallet is an in-built contactless payment platform for Samsung devices. The payment method uses NFC-enabled technology to transfer credit or debit card details to an NFC-enabled payment terminal.

Syndefense is the leading company in NFC payments in terms of application diversity, while Allegion and The Cauldron London are in the second and third positions, respectively.

By geographic reach, Blaze Mobile leads the pack, followed by Syndefense and iCashe.

The rise in preference for contactless payments amongst shoppers looking for easy and effective payment options will likely continue to drive opportunities for NFC-enabled payments in the coming years.

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.