Mastercard (NYSE:MA) has applied for a method and system that uses blockchain-based technology for verifying payment at point-of-sale (PoS). The information was revealed by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently. The American multinational financial services corporation filed for the patent in December 2016.
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Mastercard To Use Blockchain For Verification
According to the report, Mastercard has devised a conveyance and retrieval processes for verifying the credentials of users’ payment over a publicly accessible blockchain. It is a two-way process that first encodes the image of a payment card, encrypts it with a public and private key and then stores it on the blockchain. When there is a retrieval request from the user during the payment, the blockchain-based system will use the private keys for decrypting the image and verifying it.
According to Mastercard, it will integrate this method at PoS to make transactions secure because there will be no need to present the card physically. It will also relieve users of the hassles of getting their payment credentials scanned every time they decide to engage in a transaction.
Mastercard Expects New Solution To Improve Security
Mastercard has said that the technical solution for sending and retrieving payment credentials through the PoS device using third-party data sources will improve security. A statement from Mastercard says, “The use of a third party data source enables an individual to transact safely without concern for their payment credentials being skimmed from their payment instrument, or without having to even carry a payment instrument entirely.”
The statement further says that the transactions will be conducted via the display of a machine-readable code to the point of sale device. This device will prevent further skimming as it is easy to control the reading of such code through control of the underlying display. The user can shield the display easily and it is obscured when in a purse or pocket.
Until now it is not clear whether an actual product will be offered from this concept or not. However, the effort from Mastercard to utilize blockchain technology for improving the core issues concerning the credit card business is significant in itself.
