Payment services giant Mastercard reported considering blockchain to track consumer payments. This was revealed when a newly published patent was filed. According to the patent application published last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Mastercard highlights how a distributed ledger could be used to record ‘point-to-point transactions’ as they are processed.
This information can then be used by organizations or members of those organizations to create a log of items procured during the course of business, bringing transparency and maintain transaction integrity. Mastercard contends that monitoring purchases on multi-service platforms could be simplified using blockchain.
Mastercard writes: “The use of digital ledgers, such as blockchains, may further facilitate the services provided by such a platform, by enabling data to be stored clearly and in a format that is easily auditable by participating entities. In cases where ledgers like blockchains are used, the ledgers may be provided even more benefits as they may be immutable and resistant to tampering, which may further increase the reliability of such data.”
Coindesk had earlier reported Mastercard securing several patents related to blockchain, including one that details a method for speeding up cryptocurrency payments.
