Mastercard, a leading global payments and credit card services company plans to use public Blockchain to verify payment cards at stores and ATMs, according to an application filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Thursday.
Public Blockchain point of sale systems will allow Mastercard users to securely pay for items without the need for a card to be physically presented-
Deployment of the public Blockchain can prevent the loss of nearly $2 bln stolen using credit skimming at ATMs and point of sale locations each year.
The two-way method developed by Mastercard first encodes an image of a payment card and then encrypts and stores it on the Blockchain with a public and private key. Then when a payment is being made, the system will use the provided private keys to decrypt the image so it can be verified.
Mastercard stated in the patent application document:
"The transaction may be conducted via the display of a machine-readable code to the point of sale device, which may further prevent skimming as the reading of such a code can be more easily controlled via control of the underlying display; the display can be easily shielded and is often obscured when in a pocket or purse.”
The company has also filed a second patent to build a Blockchain that allows users to broadcast their travel itineraries and reservation requests to merchants who can bid for potential customers over the Blockchain.
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Vladislav Sopov
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin