Writing for Seeking Alpha, Kyle Spencer (research analyst) suggests that $2.5 trillion credit card industry is about to be disrupted by Apple.
According to Kyle Spencer, “credit cards were never designed with the Web in mind. The combination of Multi-Factor Authentication, QR scanning, mobile phones, public ledgers and biometrics offers both a more frictionless experience than plastic and are thus more suited to today’s Web saturated world.”
Spencer believes that Apple has the patents and the infrastructure to take on all newcomers and current players in this space. The recently announced collaboration between Samsung and PayPal on the Galaxy S5’s FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) compliant biometric authentication key suggest that they are well aware of the well aware of the implications of Apple’s patents and its intended use.
Tim Cook stated during the company’s recent earnings conference call that that mobile payments was one of the principal factors behind Touch ID.
“The mobile payments area in general is one that we’ve been intrigued with,” Cook told analysts last month. “It was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID.”
Key patents highlighted in the report:
Patent Pub#US20130262309 A1
A system and method for conducting secure payment using mobile communication devices, comprising: creating a first user account and a second user account in a central processing server, wherein the first user account creation comprises pairing a first mobile communication device with the first user account….
Patent Pub#US20130018792 A1
Various techniques are provided for establishing financial transaction rules to control one or more subsidiary financial accounts. In one embodiment, a financial account management application stored on a processor-based device may provide an interface for defining financial transaction rules to be applied to a subsidiary account.
Patent Pub#US20130325718 A1
An in-store mobile payment system and method can facilitate the use of a user’s mobile device to facilitate payment for products purchased at a store. The user can take a picture of a product being purchased or can take a picture of a bar code for the product. The picture can be taken with the user’s mobile device and can be used to identify the product. A payment provider can provide a unique PIN code for the transaction.
