A patent for processing payments via text messages has been granted to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a U.S. Software company Intuit.
“
A method for processing payment. The method includes receiving, by a payment service, a payment text message comprising a payment amount and an identifier of a payee mobile device” and “sending, by the payment service to the payee mobile device, a notification text message to notify the payee regarding a payee balance of the virtual payee account, wherein the payee balance is determined based at least on the payment amount,”
stated the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the filing.
The patent basically describes the process of an interaction between accounts in a virtual space and different ways through which the transactions can take place after proper validation from either party. One of the proposed methods was to receive an unanswered voice call in a set time period. The other method proposed was to use a password system that would work with association with the virtual accounts and the SMS received
In today’s age of cashless transactions, the introduction of Bitcoin text message payment method is quite revolutionary and can make crypto available to everyone, anywhere. Since many people find it way more convenient to handle transactions of the phones because everyone today has a phone and they carry it with them everywhere, this method might bring cryptocurrency in the daily lives of people. If done the right way, the approach might even improve the standing of Blockchain in the eyes of the general public.
To learn more, read the official
patent.