Square wins patent for crypto payment system

Square, a San Francisco-based digital payments company, has finally received a patent for a crypto payment system that allows dealers to accept transactions in any fiat or digital currency.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has accepted Square's application for a system that handles cryptocurrency transactions along with any other payment modes. The patent application was first filed in September 2017. 

The main idea of ​​the patent is to make it possible not to tie the seller and buyer to a single currency. So the client can pay for the order in any fiat or digital currency convenient for him. The seller has the opportunity to receive this payment in the asset of his choice. 

In addition, the patent proposes more complex functions necessary for the smooth functioning of the payment processor. The document describes the entire structure that allows the POS method to eradicate the latency inherent in cryptocurrency transactions, especially on the Bitcoin network, given their long confirmation times. 

In addition, the company promises to conduct cryptocurrency transactions at the same speed as when paying with a credit card. The POS system will identify and update the changed amounts before displaying them on the public blockchain. 

The patent claims that the issue of transaction delays can be resolved if customer balances are stored with the support of the Square payment network, which will allow internal information to be quickly updated.

Square is, of course, not a pioneer in the market of payment systems that allow payments to be made in crypto assets, which are then converted into local currency. BitPay, for example, has been practicing such transactions since 2017. And the pioneers of the payment system market began servicing Bitcoin transfers back in 2011. However, Square is a well-known brand with a good market value, so adding a crypto processor to its current POS system  will allow millions of dealers to accept crypto payments to further convert coins into fiat. 

There is no information yet on when Square plans to introduce the patented innovations or whether it will implement the patented protocol for its services.