MasterCard IOTA Patent Will Provide Tangle-Based Billing System

A new Mastercard IOTA patent will provide a Tangle-based billing system according to the latest application by the credit card provider. The company filed for a patent of a new billing system that will share devices such as printers and photocopiers so let’s read more in the IOTA crypto news.

The filing mentions IOTA’s tangle technology as well as other blockchains. The Mastercard IOTA patent will provide a new billing system based on the Tangle and the concept is detailed in the application titled “Method and System for Device Micropayment Aggregation based on the Tangle Network.” The patent application described the approach as a billing device usage via a transparent storage system so the method can be used to bill for library or “maker space” devices such as 3D printers, photocopiers, and computer printers.

Many systems rely on-coin operated on accounts and the systems usually lock users into paying for more device usage than they actually need. The proposal will manage and store all of the information related to the usage from the user identities to time spent and the usage amounts on the Tangle. This will allow the users to pay for what they need with the credit cards. The fact that the approach is transparent will ensure that no other user will be taken advantage of as the filing explains. Under the proposed system, the users will be able to monitor the usage and third parties that will be able to audit the payment records.

The patent application doesn’t mean that the payment provider will plan to build an app on IOTA and it also doesn’t mean that it will use IOTA’s native cryptocurrency. This only means that MasterCard has recognized that IOTA’s tangle is a practical design that the credit card issuer can use and designed a similar network to the Tangle. The filing mentioned that other blockchain will be used to the same extent.

The fact that Mastercard filed a patent doesn’t mean that it will turn the plans into a product. Mastercard filed about 80 blockchain-related patents and most of them have not come to fruition. The fact that Mastercard mentioned that IOTA is a good sign which means it is gaining recognition in the mainstream in industries. IOTA is also aiming for “machine economy” use cases.