US 2,007,255,653 · Filed 2007-03-30

The Patent That Turned Your Phone Into a Digital Wallet

Imagine sending money to a friend as easily as texting them a message. This patent describes a mobile payment system that lets you use your phone to pay people directly, without needing a bank or credit card middleman. You could request or send cash using SMS texts, email, or an app on your device.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a mobile payment platform that lets users transfer money person-to-person through their phones, using unique identifiers like phone numbers. What's protected here is the system architecture that connects mobile devices to financial accounts and allows transactions via SMS, web, email, instant messaging, or dedicated apps. The patent also covers the ability to identify parties by telephone number or bar code and to conduct both peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant payments through these multiple channels.

Why it matters

This patent captures the core mechanics of what became a massive category: mobile peer-to-peer payments. Filed in 2007, it staked out protection for the idea of using your phone number as your payment identifier and enabling transactions across SMS, email, and apps. This became foundational to services like Venmo, Square Cash, and similar platforms that now move billions in consumer payments annually. The patent's breadth covers multiple access points—not just apps, but texts and email too—which made it valuable intellectual property in the fintech boom.

Real-world use

When you open Venmo and send $20 to a friend using just their username or phone number, you're using the exact architecture this patent locks down—a mobile app connected to your financial account that identifies the recipient by a unique identifier.

Original USPTO abstract

A mobile payment platform and service provides a fast, easy way to make payments by users of mobile devices. The platform also interfaces with nonmobile channels and devices such as e-mail, instant messenger, and Web. In an implementation, funds are accessed from an account holder's mobile device such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant to make or receive payments. Financial transactions can be conducted on a person-to-person (P2P) or person-to-merchant (P2M) basis where each party is identified by a unique indicator such as a telephone number or bar code. Transactions can be requested through any number of means including SMS messaging, Web, e-mail, instant messenger, a mobile client application, an instant messaging plug-in application or “widget.” The mobile client application, resident on the mobile device, simplifies access and performing financial transactions in a fast, secure manner.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,007,255,653
Filing date: 2007-03-30
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: Obopay Inc.
Inventor(s): TUMMINARO JOHN, REALINI CAROL, HOSOKAWA PETE, SCHWARTZ DAVID, SHAWKI SAM, SHAH NIRAV V.
CPC class: G06Q20/10

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