American Express is on the hunt for better ways of proving when transactions occur and a new patent filing suggests the financial services giant may be looking at blockchain as part of a possible solution.
In a patent application released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week, American Express Travel Related Services describes using a “blockchain-based system” in order to receive “payment confirmation including a transaction amount and a merchant identifier.”
The concept is aimed at adding to what AmEx calls the “limited” number of options for generating quality evidence that payments happen between merchants and their customers “beyond a receipt or ticket.
American Express says that data can be used to “unlock a hotel, rental or shared economy property door using the card (e.g., that was used for the payment) to look up proof of payment on a blockchain.”
Moreover, “the system may be leveraged to provide ticketless access to venues (e.g., movie theater, sports event, concert, etc.)

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