MasterCard Files Blockchain-Related Patent for Verifying Identity

MasterCard files a patent to use blockchain as a method of storing and verifying identity.

Filed on April 12, 2018, MasterCard said that identification stored on credit cards, government ID, or business cards may be inaccurate. As such, a “technical solution” should be used to provide for storage of identity that is immutable (can never be changed).

The patent outlines the ways the blockchain can aid in verification of identity. The minimum requirements to generate a data file is a public key and a geographic jurisdiction. After the generation of “identity value”, the server will create a timestamped block and a record added to the blockchain. This will not allow any form of tampering of revision to the record on the blockchain.

This is not the first time MasterCard has filed a patent that is blockchain-elated. One such patents is for instant payments via blockchain tech, which was applied in November 2017. Cointelegraph reports that the payment processing company has filed more than 30 patents related to the blockchain.

Visa, also a payments and credit card firm, has filed blockchain-related patents in the past. While one such patent in August 2017 was broad in scope, reports suggested that it was a patent for Visa B2B Connect, a cross-border payments system using the blockchain. It is currently being tested in Asia with Union Bank as one of Visa’s partners.

Sources: Coin Telegraph, Bitcoin Magazine