Thomson reuters financial services patents innovation on a global scale by António Campello

FINANCIAL RVIC PATNT: INNOVATION ON A GLOAL CAL Financial ervice invention are on the rie, which technologie and inÐuencer are haping the future of the Ïnancial world

DEC 09, 2015

Financial ervice patent: Innovation on a gloal cale

The Internet has changed our lives forever. From social networking to online shopping and the Internet of Everything, future generations will never know existence without the influence of the World Wide Web. This also applies to the Financial sector. With the dawn of the 21st century, Financial Services have seen a significant shift in how money is loaned, transferred, processed and withdrawn. From Near Field Communications (NFCs) and biometric scans for ATMs to bitcoin and blockchain, the financial world is undergoing a massive transformation. It is very likely that our children and grandchildren will know a world without coin and paper money. But what is really happening in terms of inventions in the Financial Services sector? Which companies are at the cutting edge of innovation and what are they inventing? This article attempts to shed light on some of the technologies and influencers shaping the future of the financial world, preparing us to fully embrace the new reality we’re about to face. Financial services innovation overall Financial services innovation grew significantly between 2006 and 2009, until the effects of the economic recession hit, and then began an upward climb again over the last three years. Activity in the sector has risen nearly 150% over the last nine years, as can be seen below.

Financial ervice patenting  count of patent familie over pulication ear

Traditional technology companies such as Hitachi, Fujitsu and IBM have been consistent in their contri butions to all aspects of financial services including advances for stock exchanges, financial instruments, banking and even insurance. Patenting organizations with more than 150 innovations in the field are shown in the graph below, with their portfolios segmented by the categories in which they are innovating. These 21 companies are responsible for nearly 23% of all the worldwide innovation in financial services. They are the innovation leaders globally.

Top Ïnancial ervice organization' innovation  categor

While the overall collection of companies is truly international, the top organizations hail from just three countries. With the exception of SAP, based in Germany, all of the other companies comprising the list of top innovators have headquarters in the United States, Japan or South Korea. While the United States leads with 12 of the 21 top organizations, it has only four in the top ten. Japan and South Korea meanwhile have three each in the top ten, including the top two organizations: South Korea’s Shinhan Bank and Japan’s Oki Electric. Since the Financial Services sector encompasses a wide array of machinations and workings, it is useful to segment the field into five main categories: Banking, Exchanges & Stocks, Insurance, Investments & Financial Instruments and Unspecified Financial Services. The majority of the patent filings and almost all of the recent growth are coming from Banking. The Exchanges & Stocks and Investments & Financial Instruments categories have shown some recent growth, but not nearly to the same degree as Banking. Learn more about financial services patents in Banking Learn more about financial services patents in Exchanges and Stocks Learn more about financial services patents in Investments and Financial Instruments

Technology is changing Technology is changing the way companies every where are doing business. The Financial Services sector is no exception. It is imperative that new technologies are adopted in order for the institutions using them to remain competitive and meet evolving customer expectations, providing convenience and safety in the ways they want to manage their businesses, assets and money. Over the last decade, bellwether financial institutions and new upstarts have begun to deliver innovative solutions to the market, the combination of which is changing how we define and understand banking and finance. The innovations we’re witnessing are happening around the world, led by forwardthinking organizations. This opens up the possibility for future collaboration and

partnerships, as those with comple mentary solutions look to leverage them more broadly. In the interim, it is worth watching this space more closely, especially to see how innovation will change not just the technology we use to access money, but whether it will also change the money itself.

Aout the author

Basil Moftah is the former president of Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property & Science business. Moftah began his Thomson Reuters career in Egypt in 1997 and served in a number of roles including managing director for Middle East, Africa & Russia; head of Rapidly Developing Economies for financial clients; investment associate for the Reuters Venture Capital Group; and as the head of Business Direct in EMEA. He worked for Thomson Reuters in a number of countries including Dubai, U.S., UK, Italy and Switzerland.