Payment solutions giant Mastercard has won a patent for a payment system linking Blockchain-based assets to fiat currency accounts. The US patent is a new method to speed up digital currency payments.
The document, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or USPTO, explained that it is a method for managing fractional reserves of blockchain currency.
It noted that cryptocurrencies have seen increased usage over traditional fiat currencies by consumers who value anonymity and security, but they are at a disadvantage mainly due to the significant amount of time for a blockchain transaction to be conducted.
According to CNBC, blockchain transactions take about 10 minutes in comparison to nanoseconds for traditional payments.
Many entities, particularly merchants, retailers, service providers, and other purveyors of goods and services, who are accustomed to fast transaction times, may be wary of accepting blockchain currency for products and participating in blockchain transactions.
The patent document pointed that there is a need to improve on the storage and processing of transactions that utilize blockchain currencies.
Seth Eisen, Mastercard's senior vice president for communications, told CNBC that Mastercard holders currently can only pay for things using currency that the government has declared as legal tender. Eisen said, "We're consistently looking at ways to bring new thinking and new innovations to market to create value for us and our customers and cardholders. Patent applications are part of that process, taking steps to protect the company's intellectual property, whether or not the idea ever comes to market."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.