Apple seeks NFC digital identity patent

Apple has applied for a patent for a user authentication framework that would allow users to store digital identity documents such as their passport, driving licence and national ID card and present them for verification on their NFC-enabled iPhone or other mobile device.

The application lays out how various embodiments of the framework could use technologies including NFC, RFID and biometrics to import and authenticate digital ID documents in a secure element (SE) within a mobile device.

The application comes after the USPTO granted Apple a patent for identity credential verification techniques to improve 'data security with respect to data collection, verification, and authentication techniques associated with obtaining and transmitting identity information [including] biometric input methods'.