Apple has applied for a patent that describes a commercial transaction method for mobile devices, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. The patent filing describes a backend system designed to secure electronic payments made through your phone.

The "Method to send payment data through various air interfaces without compromising user data" describes technology that can be used to conduct a secure commercial transaction.

After paying for an item using your phone, the retailer's point of sale (POS) device would be connected to a backend system designed to handle commercial transactions.

A secure link between your device and the POS would be established using a wireless technology such as WiFi and Bluetooth, according to the filing.

A second secure link between your phone and the backend server would be established and conduct a secure commercial transaction between the purchasing device and the backend server using payment data secured by "a shared secret" known to a secure element in the purchasing device and to the backend server.

A crypto key is generated from the "shared secret" and is stored on your phone. The server then creates a key based on the secret and compares it with the key from your phone. If the keys match, the server deems the transaction legitimate, and your credit card is charged.