The international payment giant American Express is actively exploring the possibilities of blockchain technologies to increase the speed of transactions. This is evidenced by the patent application, which was filed by the "daughter" of AE Travel Related Services Company, specializing in travel.
The document, published on the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office, describes a method in which a payment request is first sent to a special blockchain system, the algorithms of which determine, approve and reject the transfer. A variety of factors are used for the assessment, including risk analysis.
If the payment request is approved, the system automatically processes the transaction, making appropriate changes to the balance of the sender and the recipient. To access the system, users will need to create digital lock-wallets. Thus, all payments will be processed directly in the blockchain, bypassing third parties like banks.
The patent also mentions P2P payments made with the help of a blockchain. At the same time, the volatility of bitcoin prices and the fact that the first crypto currency is based on a public distributed register are called the main reasons why this network does not meet the requirements of American Express.
In addition, as they say in the application, the blockchain system is able to improve existing payment networks with bank cards.
"A payment network based on the P2P system can perform most of the functions of traditional payment systems by bank cards, and also expand the range of available services and functions," the document says.
