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 5,000 patents filed and granted in the banking industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in banking: voice 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 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.
35+ 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 176,000 patents, there are 35+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, mortgage servicing risk management and AR/VR trading platforms are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Cashless settlement, automated banking machines, and asynchronous distributed payments are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are UWB-enabled payments, and mobile check deposit processing, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the banking industry
Voice payments is a key innovation area in banking
Voice payments refer to a transaction in which payment is made through voice recognition and command technology, without the need for physical interaction with cards, cash or a mobile device.
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 120 companies, spanning technology vendors, established banking companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of voice payments.
Key players in voice payments – 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 voice payments
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Among the companies innovating in technologies associated with voice payments, Alibaba Group is one of the leading patent filers. The company filed patents related to payment processing methods and apparatus for collecting audio signals, generating graphic codes from the audio signals, verifying the user identity and the account number with voice print technology, and voice broadcasting the payment result.
Bizmodeline, Capital One Financial, and Mastercard are some of the other key patent filers in the voice payments space.
In terms of application diversity, Weir Group held the top position, while Sony Group and Fiserv stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Barclays leads the pack, followed by Razorpay Software and eBay.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the banking industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Banking.
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