JPMorgan has reportedly been working on its own version of a digital payment system for some time. Its current patent application reportedly traces its roots as far back as 1999, after which it was updated.
The current patent bears some resemblance to Bitcoin . It features a digital wallet and an ability to make Payments to anyone anonymously, and a private "lockbox". Unlike credit cards, which are pull payment systems whereby the payee draws payment from the payer, the proposed is a push payment system. The main advantage is the ability to make payments without having to disclose sensitive account information. In solutions like PayPal, and most recently Bitcoin, the payer actuates payment.
The bank is envisioning a new marketplace for "low dollar, high volume, real-time payments with payment surety for both consumers and producers."
IBI Times reports that apparently, the most recent version of patent filed one year ago has been rejected numerous times. And the Bitcoin community has not appreciated the bank's stealth tactics in trying to invent its own version of Bitcoin.
The IBI Times piece is bullish on Bitcoin, saying that it has numbered the days of credit cards, which were never meant for use on the internet.
Whether the patent will ever pan out is anyone's guess. But there is nothing preventing the bank, or any other institution, from proceeding even without a patent. And the evolution of more streamlined payment solutions is bound to happen, and in the case of financial institutions, is only held back by the weight of the traditional baggage these institutions need to throw overboard.
Notably, the bank recently published an analysis titled, "Disruptive Technologies: Transforming the Business Landscape", featured on its home page. The analysis focuses on how disruptive technology companies succeed in today's business climate and the approach taken to their valuation. The five core trends are: Mobile, Social, Big Data, Real Time and the Cloud, all or many of which have played key roles in technologies aiming to disrupt the world of finance.
