Apple could be gearing up to enter the peer-to-peer payments market through Apple Pay.
VentureBeat reported Thursday (July 2) that a patent has been granted to the consumer electronics giant for its own person-to-person payments technology. The patent focuses on payments processes between individuals that are secure and cost nothing for the users, according to VentureBeat.
“In particular, an individual using an electronic device [phone, tablet, laptop] may identify another proximate electronic device of a counterparty in a financial transaction and may provide an encrypted payment packet to the other electronic device,” said the site, quoting the patent filing.
Under the technology described in the filing, Device A can send a token via email to an account held by Device B, which can accept payment as soon as the token is activated. Upon acceptance, the payee’s device then sends information tied to the transaction and a separate encrypted packet to a third-party device that then completes the transaction. According to the patent, that third part can be the payee’s bank or a third-party financial enterprise. Communication can take place via near-field communications, commonly known as NFC, or Bluetooth.
Referring to authentication and, by extension, enhanced security measures tied to the new service, the patent notes that the devices that reside on either end of the transaction might use biometric sensors, possibly via fingerprint readers, to help identify the users. And as an extra measure, the users may also be asked to offer up a PIN code.
The news that Apple is looking to establish its own foothold in the peer-to-peer payments market comes just a few weeks after Google said its Google Wallet feature would be used to transition to a peer-to-peer application, utilizing debit accounts and the Android system.
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