The MasterCard filing, dubbed the‘Payment Interchange for Use With Global Shopping Cart’, was submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in March 2013. The patent has not yet been approved by the USPTO.

The global shopping cart is planned to reach each store offering its own individual cart, thereby aiming to consumers who intend to invest money in projects such as weddings or home renovations.

The filing writes that a global shopping cart requires a payment interchange that supports a wide array of payment methods. As such, MasterCard includes Bitcoin in the filing under the broader term of “non-traditional modes or sources of payment”, stating that the payment interchange includes payment services such as cloud payment schemes, digital wallets, point of sale (POS) and non-traditional payment methods.

Moreover, there are references to barter payments, comprising virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, social media credits, automated clearing house (ACH) and coupons.

MasterCard also states that an API framework will make possible payment transactions and interchanges as, for example, in dealing with Bitcoin as well as other digital wallets such as its own MasterPass, Google Wallet and PayPal.

The MasterCard filing made the credit card issuer add its name to a list of other traditional financial companies that have sought to claim patent protection for various digital currency uses, including Gemalto, Visa and Western Union.