Richardson, Texas-based DeviceFidelity announced it has received a patent describing "an implementation of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for enabling mobile devices to function like mobile wallets capable of conducting payment, access, transit and other contactless transactions using credentials issued by multiple different enterprises through Points of Sale terminals."

Put in simpler terms, DeviceFidelity now has a patent for an NFC mobile wallet that works independently of any financial institution, account type or even mobile device. The patent also describes security methods that protect data stored in the wallet as well as authentication processes to protect NFC transactions.

The ability to use multiple account types on a variety of smartphones to make mobile payments is a different approach than Google's recently announced Google Wallet, and one that could lead to a faster adoption of the technology.

The Google Wallet requires consumers to have a Citibank-issued MasterCard account stored on a smartphone with an embedded set of NFC technologies. Only one phone currently on the market fits that description: Google's own Nexus S running its Android mobile operating system. Consumers carrying other popular smartphones like iPhones and BlackBerrys are out of luck.

According to DeviceFidelity, the market was looking for a more inclusive approach.

"Most consumers change phones often and several carry multiple phones, especially high-end users who are early adopters of new technology," DeviceFidelity President and CEO Deepak Jain said in the announcement of the patent. Research and pilot programs conducted by DeviceFidelity showed consumers wanted a "portable" solution that works on their preferred smartphones, Jain said.

"The patent grant for a mobile wallet comes at a time where the industry is bubbling with a large momentum for such an offering and means that we are able to license the technology, generating greater availability, and meeting consumer demands immediately," Jain said in the announcement.

This most recent patent builds on an earlier patent the company received in May. That patent was for an external NFC accessory, an attachment that would connect to a mobile device through a dongle or external case. The attachment would make the device able to interact with any other NFC device, terminal or display without requiring embedded NFC capabilities. Now with DeviceFidelity's new secure mobile wallet, that would include making mobile payments at NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals.

"It's a pretty good patent," Einar Rosenberg, CTO of mobile payment consulting firm Narian Technologies, said in an email. "This is in some ways a better distribution model compared to embedded technologies because the MicroSD could have everything it needs already inside. And that's not just the hardware, but the wallet, security, and possibly even cards, preloaded and more secure than even OTA [over the air]," Rosenberg said, referring to the method the Google Wallet uses to load account information on smartphones.

DeviceFidelity did not respond immediately to questions about potential partnerships or licensing agreements for the new patent, or when the company thinks programs using either their new mobile wallet or NFC accessory might reach consumers.