Mastercard tackles payment issues with blockchain patents

Mastercard dubbed its patent application “Method and System for Payment Card Verification via Blockchain,” which is essentially an encryption process to encode the card’s information, store it on the blockchain, and then issue both a public and private key. When a card holder makes a purchase, an information retrieval is requested and then the system uses the keys to decode and verify the card’s information.

In its patent application, Mastercard highlighted that the current wireless transmission of payment credential is vulnerable to interception. It also received approval of its patent application for a blockchain system of itinerary bidding that allows travellers to submit their itineraries to a public blockchain, which are subsequently sent to to airlines, hotels and other services that would then respond with bids from which the traveller can choose.

“As a result, travellers save both time and money with respect to their travel itinerary, and travel providers are provided with greater opportunities to earn and increase revenue,” a spokesman for Mastercard says.