South Korea’s leading credit card firm Shinhan Card has been granted a patent for a blockchain payments system, English-language local media The Korea Times reports on July 15.

Per the report, with the newly patented technology the company has established a blockchain-powered credit transaction process allowing for setting spending limits, paying in monthly installments and carrying out payments. The outlet quotes an anonymous Shinhan Card official commenting on the development:

“Services using those key functions of credit cards will be extended to the blockchain-based system, a notable advancement from the status quo whereby most blockchain-based services available are limited to cash wiring or user identification for online transactions.”

The official also reportedly explained that the company has been awarded the patent about a year and a half after conducting a feasibility study, and that the firm is currently working to also obtain patents in European countries, the U.S., Japan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. According to the article, the system could also soon allow for cardless transactions via a mobile app.

Per the report, the initiatives could result in a phase-out of the network of three intermediaries, namely credit card firms, a value-added network service provider and a Payment Gate. Value-added networks are service providers connecting credit card companies and member stores to verify and approve transactions, while the payment gate is tasked with carrying out the payment.

Company information website Crunchbase claims that Shinhan Card is South Korea’s leading credit card provider and corporate analytics service Owler estimates the firm’s annual revenue to be $841.6 million.

As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, a consortium of major South Korean firms partnered to launch a blockchain-based mobile identification system in 2020.

At the end of June, Crypterium, a crypto payment firm led by former Visa exec, revealed it shipped about 4,000 crypto debit cards in a week since the launch of the card.