Mobile Payments: FinTech vs. Non-FinTech Patent Landscape

According to a report by market intelligence firm International Data Corporation, the worldwide annual transactions volume of mobile payments are expected to cross US$ 1 trillion in 2020 from US$ 500 billion in 2015. It becomes an equally valuable question - who is filling this huge gap? The answer is spread across companies ranging from global tech giants like Google to fintech companies like Paypal and several startups. Further, the legal framework and operative guidelines from the regulatory authorities on mobile based payments have been absent until now - not anymore! Companies like Samsung, Apple and Google have patiently waited for this opportunity and have been slowly gathering mobile payments related patents. As the regulatory and legal framework takes shape and markets incline towards reliance on mobile payments, something long due will be set in motion too - patent licensing and infringement lawsuits.