Mastercard announced on February 10 that it would start supporting cryptocurrency transactions, months after PayPal made a similar announcement and caused a Bitcoin surge in October of 2020. At the time, we noted that PayPal's patents left a clear paper trail leading up to this announcement. But what of Mastercard and its rival Visa?
As it turns out, Mastercard has one of the largest patent portfolios in Cryptocurrency and has opened up its card to third-party cryptocurrency platforms in the past. Visa started its cryptocurrency development earlier but lags behind. However, Visa has launched a Fast Track program that gives blockchain and cryptocurrency companies including Stripe and Galileo the resources to integrate their technologies into Visa's banking and payment systems. More evidence of Visa facilitating third-party development can be seen in the company's newly launched cryptocurrency APIs, which will allow private banks to integrate cryptocurrency exchange functionalities.
Partnerships can dissolve, but patents are forever. (Or at least 20 years or so.) Visa and Mastercard are both continuing to patent across all Cryptocurrency categories, so we can expect more developments from them soon. How will Mastercard's current edge in patents hold out against Visa's corporate initiatives? Subscribe to the Patent Forecast® to find out.
