Mastercard requests patent to integrate blockchain solutions

Mastercard, the credit card provider, is planning to integrate blockchain solutions into its payments infrastructure.  The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a new application that outlines the new solution that Mastercard has patented.  The solution that aims to establish a uniform settlement payment, would help ease the friction involved with business-to-business payments. The issues tackled in the application include the increasing volume and frequency of transactions, as well as the growing demand for data storage.

Furthermore, Mastercard indicates in the application that such a system could include a blockchain-based ledger of transactions. In fact, it is stated in the application that “"In some embodiments, the ledger may be a blockchain configured to store the associated data. [...]In the system, the data values may include the purchase orders, invoices, transaction data, and other data stored in the ledger as discussed herein."

Mastercard explained that the blockchain solution would enable all modifications to be automatically recorded. This verifies each transaction, creates an unchangeable record of all data, and prevents malicious users from modifying transactions in the system.