China UnionPay, one of the major players in China, attempts to patent a blockchain-related technology for connecting a network of ATMs.
China UnionPay, one of the major payment processors, has recently patent a new blockchain-based system for connecting a network of automated teller machines (ATM’s).
Last month State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China released a set of documents revealing a concept, under which ATMs are presented as nodes within a blockchain-powered network. All transactions are shared through a distributed database, which guarantees high level of security and operating time.
Regardless of using only limited amount of data coming from a single point of communication, which hardly seems to be reliable, the system is designed to maintain all transactional information in total security.
The explanation can be found in the patent application:
“According to the present invention, the server can synchronize all the information directly as the monitoring node, facilitate the aggregation of the transaction information, and perform the predetermined processing on the transaction information by using the asymmetric encryption algorithm, thereby ensuring the security of the transaction information.”
However, whether the leading payment card giant is going to apply the new blockchain patent system for commercial needs or not, still remains under question.
The patent for ATMs is not the first blockchain project developed by China UnionPay. In September 2016 the company presented a blockchain-based system for trading loyalty points between the customers, developed in cooperation with IBM. In the words of China UnionPay’s Electronic Payment Research Institute director He Shuo, blockchain technologies are a “breakthrough” in the electronic payment industry.
Global credit card issuer Mastercard, which has recently filed its “Information Transaction Infrastructure” patent, and Bank of America with its three latest patent applications for DLT, seem to share He Shuo’s view.
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