IoT innovation: leaders in geofenced transactions for the banking industry 

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 129,000 patents filed and granted in the banking industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Internet of Things in banking: geofenced transactions. Buy the report here.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 165,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the banking industry, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Geofenced transactions refer to a payment method where transactions are either enabled or disabled based on the location of the user. This location is identified through the use of geofencing technology, which creates virtual boundaries around physical spaces, triggering a response when a mobile device enters or exits the designated area. Geofenced transactions can be used for a variety of purposes, including fraud prevention and targeted marketing.

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 60+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established banking companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of geofenced transactions.

‘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’. 

Headwater Research is one of the leading patent filers in technologies associated with geofenced transactions. The company filed patents related to wireless network service plan design and interfaces, mobile device communications control on roaming networks, communications devices with secure data path processing agents, fraud detection and mitigation in device-assisted services systems, and verifiable service billing for intermediate networking devices.

Stream, Huawei, and PayPal are some of the other key patent filers in the geofenced transactions space.

In terms of application diversity, Collegium Pharmaceutical held the top position, while INRIX and Alibaba Group stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Stream leads the pack, followed by Collegium Pharmaceutical and LocatorX.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the banking industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Internet of Things (IoT) in Banking.