MasterCard Inc. is seeking a patent on a payment exchange that includes Bitcoin and other non-traditional modes of payment.
According to application 20140172633, published June 19 in the database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the system is described as a global shopping cart with a flexible application programming interface.
Other nontraditional payment forms that can be part of the payment exchange include barter, virtual currency, social media credits, automated clearing house and coupons.
Filters can be included in the exchange system to block payment for pornography, purchase of illegal substances or for illegal acts such as money laundering, terrorism, smuggling and making purchases with stolen credit card numbers, MasterCard said in its application.
