Sony patent suggests PlayStation controller with tap-to-pay tech

What the patent describes

Sony has filed a provisional patent, titled Video game controller-driven information transfer, that outlines a PlayStation controller able to receive payment or account details from a nearby phone. Engadget reports the filing was made in 2025 and describes a flow similar to the contactless payments people already make with smartphones.

Under the proposal, the controller would detect a device close by, such as a phone. That device would receive a signal, send a confirmation back to the controller, and the controller would then pass the information on to the console.

The patent suggests the proximity detection could work over NFC, short for near-field communication, or over a Bluetooth connection, or both. NFC is the same short-range wireless technology behind tap-to-pay on iPhones, Apple Watches and many other phones.

When a tap would be used

The filing describes these transfers as responses to what it calls an event that has occurred at the video game console. The diagrams in the patent point to a range of uses, including buying a game from the PlayStation Store, entering gift card details or joining a multiplayer match.

In each case, the idea is that a single tap of a phone could replace a long stretch of on-screen typing. The patent does not confirm that any of this will appear in a shipping product.

Why Sony is chasing easier checkouts

Typing card numbers with a controller is a familiar frustration for many players. Engadget notes that this friction can lead people to abandon purchases, which costs Sony sales, and that entering payment or login details through an on-screen keyboard can be slow or go wrong.

The timing matters too. Sony has said it will move fully to digital formats and stop producing physical discs in 2028. A smoother checkout on the console would fit that digital-only direction.

Controller-based NFC is not entirely new. Nintendo's Wii U GamePad and Switch Pro Controller both use short-range wireless to read amiibo figures, showing the underlying tech is well established.

What it signals for the next generation

Engadget frames the filing as another hint that the next generation of PlayStation consoles is approaching. It sits alongside other recent patents from Sony and Microsoft, including a divisive Microsoft proposal to interrupt games with advertisements.

Whether this controller idea ever becomes a real product is unknown. Provisional patents often describe features that never ship, so readers should treat this as an indication of where Sony is thinking rather than a confirmed feature.