Mobile Pay Tech Lets Users Say To Pay

Biometric authentication technology company NXT-ID wants to bring consumers who want to pay with their phone a new, and potentially easier method to say how they want to pay: by using their voice.

The company filed a provisional patent yesterday (Feb. 23) that brings to the mobile commerce market what it calls a “groundbreaking payment method” that allows consumers to pay through voice recognition by using biometrics and a special word associated with the payment option. Both need to be recognized for the payment authentication to be approved. As NXT-ID explains, payment can be used with Magnetic Stripe Emulation (MSE), Near Field Communication (NFC), or another specified interface that’s attached to the payment account.

“We are very excited to offer this new convenient and secure method to make payments,” David Tunnell, chief technology officer of NXT-ID said in a company news release. “We’ve all been there – waiting in line as we fumble through our wallets to [find] the right card or information. With this invention, we not only secure your data by recognizing you are who you say you are from your voice, but we also provide an extremely convenient way for you to select how you wish to pay.”

What also makes this particular patent stand out is the “voice cards” technology that, according to the company, are fake names given by the user to identify private financial information for credit and debit accounts. By adding a second layer of security measure, consumers are able to choose how they want to pay, and by which method. Tunnell explained how the technology works and how it benefits consumers looking for a new mobile payment option.

“Convenience to access your private data is just as important as securing your private data,” Tunnell said. “With this invention, you may simply ask for a specific payment account and the account is programmed to an appropriate emulator that emulates the account selected. To make it even more convenient, the voice may be recognized and emulated on the same device, such as a cellphone or our Wocket smart wallet, or recognized on one device and directed to another device such as a watch or a reprogrammable smart card like our WocketCard to then make the payment. In addition, the ability to name your account further protects your information since no one knows which card you are choosing. For instance, no private information is revealed if you say ‘grocery card’ or ‘gas card No. 3’.  You know the account you are choosing, but no one else does.”