With Amazon's patented method, the transaction can be authorised when the user's mobile is in close proximity to the merchant's location.
Indian patent has been granted to Amazon Technologies for a method by which it can automatically authenticate mobile transactions based on user location.
The invention is aimed at providing seamless transactions using geo-locations and user identifiers. With this, the company claims to have resolved the bottlenecks in providing mobile users secure, easy-to-handle, and contact-free authorisation of transactions.
The patent, which was filed in 2012 at the Delhi patent office, was granted to the e-commerce major on August 11, 2020, says a report by Financial Express.
In the patent document, Amazon said that if a consumer uses the online payment option, they may have to add the biller details prior to making a transaction and stand in the queue to complete the transaction.
This can cause potential security concerns as hackers or skimmers may scan the user device or cards for details.
"Similarly, if the person pre-authorises a biller, concerns may emerge of the biller conducting unauthorised payments. Amazon's invention addresses the aforementioned problems by providing a method for automatically authenticating a transaction based on the user’s location," the company said.
With Amazon's patented method, the transaction can be authorised when the user's mobile is in close proximity to the merchant's location. According to Amazon, the method will also help in determining if the user has designated the merchant as a trusted merchant.
As per the patent document, since the transactions are initiated by the user and carried out only with trusted merchants, security and safety of the transactions have been ensured.
"Additionally, the user may now need not enter any sensitive personal transaction information in the merchant location, which further reduces the risk of skimming of the information by hackers," it added.