Method and apparatus for payments between two mobile devices

1. A method for authenticating a mobile payment, the method comprising:

causing a first mobile device to capture data directly from a second mobile device, the data includes an electronic invoice and settlement information with a merchant associated with the second mobile device;

extracting the electronic invoice from the captured data in the first mobile device;

displaying the electronic invoice on a display of the mobile device to show an amount to be paid by a user of the first mobile device, wherein the first mobile device is configured to execute an installed application therein to capture the data from the second mobile device;

receiving an entry by the first mobile device, the entry including the amount for the invoice and optionally an additional amount from the user;

calculating a total amount by adding the additional amount to the amount in the electronic invoice when the additional amount is added by the user;

generating a payment request in the mobile device in response to the electronic invoice after the user has chosen an electronic purse (e-purse) maintained locally in the mobile device;

verifying the total amount with a balance in the e-purse, wherein said verifying the total amount with a balance in the e-purse is performed within the first mobile device before sending the payment request to a payment server; and

sending the payment request from the first mobile device to the payment server, wherein the balance is sufficient to honor the payment request, the payment server sends a message directly to the second mobile device that a monetary transaction per the payment request sent from the first mobile device has been successfully completed.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: causing the first mobile device to execute an installed module upon detecting the second mobile device in a near field of the first mobile device, wherein the installed module is executed to receive the data directly from the second mobile device.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said causing a first mobile device to capture data directly from a second mobile device includes the first mobile device communicating wirelessly with the second mobile device.

4. The method as recited in claim 3 , wherein the first mobile device and the second mobile device are communicating via Near-field communication (NFC).

5. The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein the first mobile device includes a secure element specifically registered with the payment server.

6. The method as recited in claim 5 , wherein the e-purse in the first mobile device is provisioned with the secure element.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein said sending the payment request from the first mobile device to the payment server comprises:

transporting the payment request over a secured channel to the payment server, wherein the payment server is configured to perform the monetary transaction per the payment request by deducting the total amount from the e-purse and generates a confirmation and delivers the confirmation to the second mobile device.

8. The method as recited in claim 7 , wherein the first mobile device includes a secure element with a security domain to establish a secured channel with the payment server to receive a transaction key.

9. The method as recited in claim 8 , wherein the transaction key is generated based on device information of the secure element and an identifier identifying the e-purse.

10. The method as recited in claim 9 , wherein the secure element hosts certain applications and corresponding confidential and cryptographic data for each of the applications.