Patent applications related to ESG increased by 8% per year on average in the banking & payments industry since 2020

The global banking & payments industry experienced an 8% increase in annual average growth rate (AAGR) in the number of ESG-related patent applications between 2020 and 2022. The total number of ESG-related grants increased by an AAGR of 23% during the same period, according to GlobalData's patent analytics database. 

Notably, the number of ESG-related patent applications in the banking & payments industry was 2,238 since 2020, while 864 applications were granted. 

Analysis of patent applications by company shows that State Grid Corporation of China, Outerwall, Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor, and Kia filed the most ESG patents within the banking & payments industry since 2020. State Grid Corporation of China filed 56 ESG-related patents since 2020, while Outerwall filed 40 patents. 

Analysis of patent grants by companies shows that Outerwall was granted 17 patents related to ESG within the banking & payments industry since 2020. It was followed by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (15 grants), State Grid Corporation of China (14 grants), Emerging Automotive (12 grants) and Nuvve (12 grants). 

The largest share of ESG-related patent publications in the banking & payments industry since 2020 was held by China with 39%, followed by the US (31%) and South Korea (11%). 

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.  

GlobalData’s Patents Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official patent offices around the world. Proprietary analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries