The Visa company have filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to create a blockchain-based digital currency. It’s a part of company’s strategy for replacement of cash with digital money and boosting their payment ecosystem with the use of innovations.
They reveal all the advantages of digital money over fiat, but at the same time explain the impropriety of the complete conversion of the financial system into electronic form. The future digital currency will be based on blockchain and controlled by a “central computer”. Visa sent the document in November, but published in May 14 by the USPTO and titled ‘Digital Fiat Currency’.
The peculiarities of Digital Fiat Money
The application notes that digital money has advantages over fiat payment systems concerning the speed of transactions and the trust of users. The last one is ensured using blockchain technology. At the same time, Visa deny the need for a complete transition of the financial system to digital money.
The main reason is that the use of such payment mechanisms requires the availability of electronic devices. Not all segments of the population have them, which makes the complete transition impossible. The patent applies to all digital currencies. Certainly, Ethereum is included and noted to be a potential network. Other central bank digital currencies such as pounds, yen, and euros are added as well.
This is only one of the steps of Visa payment system towards the crypto industry. In January, the company announced the acquisition of fintech firm Plaid for $5.3 billion. The CEO of Visa said that the deal would allow the payment system to enter a new market and take the center stage.
Coinbase exchange joins Visa
The official blog of Coinbase announces that the trading platform has become the first cryptocurrency company to receive approval from the Visa payment system. This will allow the platform to issue debit cards without relying on third-party organizations. In addition, the Visa support simplifies the use of digital money as a means of payment in everyday life.
The collaboration between Visa and Coinbase took place last year. As a result, the companies released the cryptocurrency debit Coinbase Card. It supports 10 digital coins, but only residents of the European Union can receive it. The Visa debit card works with user’s Coinbase account balance. The Coinbase Card is now available in 29 European countries and works with any Visa-compatible payment terminal and ATM. The company will offer the Coinbase Card in more markets in the future. The new status can give more possibilities in the nearest future.
MasterCard is interested in cryptocurrency projects as well
The MasterCard company have opened vacancies for blockchain professionals. Presumably, they will be creating a digital money wallet. The payment system is looking for a distributed registry technology engineer, head of product management in the cryptocurrency and wallets direction, and vice president of in the product management of blockchain.
The MasterCard company has been working on developing its own blockchain for years. Moreover, Mastercard is partnering with enterprise blockchain technology company R3 to develop a new cross-border payment system. The blockchain-based solution will connect faster payment infrastructure with banks supported by Mastercard’s clearing and settlement network. In addition, Mastercard is partnering with food track-and-trace software provider Envisible to create a blockchain-based supply chain platform to help supermarkets trace the origin of seafood.