VISA Working on Digital Wallet and NFTs, New Trademark Applications Show

Global payments firm Visa has filed two trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) concerning digital wallets, non-fungible tokens, and the metaverse.

The applications were filed on October 22nd, after the filing of similar documents by numerous significant corporations, including American Express and the New York Stock Exchange, throughout the previous year.

One of the applications concerns trademarks related to software for “management of digital transactions; use as a digital currency wallet and storage services software; use as a cryptocurrency wallet; and managing and verifying cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology.”

A second application is related to “providing temporary use of non-downloadable software for users to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and blockchain assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFT).”

In 2020, VISA had a patent application, described ‘Digital Fiat Currency’ to produce digital money on a centralized computer using blockchain technology, approved.

A visa spokesperson said:

“Each year we seek patents for hundreds of new ideas. While not all patents will result in new products or features, Visa respects intellectual property and we are actively working to protect our ecosystem, our innovations and the Visa brand.”

Visa is surely keeping a close eye on the relevance of its brand in the crypto and blockchain space.

In the beginning of October, the payments giant agreed a partnership with leading cryptocurrency exchange FTX to roll out crypto debit cards, directly linked to users’ accounts.

In December 2021, Visa’s head of crypto Cuy Sheffield confirmed his company’s future relating to crypto and said

his firm “built a lot of momentum in this space” and would “continue to support the crypto ecosystem in several ways.”

Visa is currently working with about more than 60 leading crypto platforms “to launch card programs that make it easy for consumers to convert and spend digital currency at 80 million merchant locations worldwide.”