Sony’s New Patent May Turn Your PlayStation Controller Into a Tap-to-Pay Terminal

Sony is exploring an unusual way to make buying PlayStation games easier. A new patent suggests you may one day be able to tap your phone or payment card directly against your controller to make a purchase.

As first reported by IGN, a recently published Sony patent, titled “Video Game Controller-Driven Information Transfer,” describes adding NFC capabilities to a PlayStation controller, allowing it to communicate with nearby devices. According to the report, the idea is relatively straightforward, albeit bizarre. When making a PlayStation Store purchase, players could tap their phone near the controller to confirm a payment. Payment information would then travel through the controller to the console, avoiding the tedious process of entering card details using an on-screen keyboard.

Sony’s patent specifically calls out credit and bank account information, gift cards and digital wallets. NFC and Bluetooth are both described as potential communication methods, while physical contact between the controller and device could also initiate a connection.

Interestingly, payments aren’t the only potential use. Sony describes transferring account information through the same system. In practice, that could let someone tap their phone against a friend’s controller to sign into their PlayStation account rather than manually entering login information. As a long-time PlayStation user, this sounds like a promising feature, since it’s incredibly tedious to type account information using the console’s keyboard.

The controller may use vibrations, lights, and audio cues to confirm that it has detected a device or transferred information successfully.

The patent was originally filed in March 2025 before being published on September 17, 2026. It also arrives as Sony continues experimenting with its controller hardware. The DualSense already incorporates adaptive triggers and advanced haptics, while Sony has explored several other controller concepts through patent filings.

A patent doesn’t confirm a future product or Sony’s plans. There’s no indication this technology will appear in a revised PlayStation 5 controller or be introduced with the eventual PlayStation 6 hardware. The company has also been making changes to its broader PlayStation business. Earlier this month, Sony walked away from Hideo Kojima’s upcoming Physint, with Xbox subsequently taking over publishing duties.