Mastercard has filed 15 NFT and metaverse trademark applications as part of a wide-ranging plan to extend its payment processing system, slogans and branding into the new virtual economy.
The filings were first referenced in a tweet by US trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis:
According to the filings Mastercard sees four key applications for its services in the metaverse:
- “Downloadable music files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs); downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio, and video authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs);…E-commerce software to allow users to perform electronic business transactions in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”
- “Marketplaces for digital goods and NFT backed media”
- “Processing of virtual credit card, virtual debit card, virtual prepaid card, and virtual payment card transactions in the metaverse… Payment processing services, namely credit card, prepaid card, gift card, and payment card transaction processing services in the metaverse; Providing financial information in the metaverse and other virtual worlds”
- “Events and performances in the metaverse in the fields of finance, cryptocurrency, and NFTs”
- “Online communities for digital assets, NFTs, metaverse and virtual worlds”
Mastercard is not alone in tapping into a virtual economy that Citibank analysts estimate could be worth $13 trillion by 2030
Kondoudis last month also picked up on patent filings by rival card scheme American Express to to register its name, logo, and slogans for a range of banking services in the virtual world.
Other blue chip brands setting up shop in the metaverse include JPMorgan, HSBC, CaxiaBank's imagin, Siam Commercial bank and Walmart.