American Express hint at entering metaverse

AMERICAN Express has hinted at entering the metaverse just a month after JP Morgan opened a lounge in Decentraland.

The world’s second-largest payments processor has filed seven trademark applications linked to virtual services and its iconic logo, joining JP Morgan, HSBC, Visa, and Mastercard in exploring Web3.

The filings from March 9 include requests by American Express to secure trademarks on software for credit cards, travel, concierge services, a virtual environment for recreation and entertainment, as well as an NFT marketplace.


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American Express also look ready to offer wallet services for digital and blockchain assets, a virtual currency exchange, and digitised and utility token trading services.

In the summer of 2021, American Express dabbled in NFTs and offered card members a limited series of 14 NFTs featuring the recording artist SZA.

Each digital collectible cost $100.

Other credit card companies including Visa and Mastercard have started to accept users’ demand for buying cryptocurrencies using fiat.

Mastercard first announced plans to support cryptocurrencies in February 2021.

While Visa paid 49.5 ETH (around $165,000 at the time) for a CryptoPunk. They said: “Over the last 60 years, Visa has built a collection of historic commerce artifacts – Today, as we enter a new era of NFT-commerce, Visa welcomes CryptoPunk #7610 to our collection.”

And just last month, JP Morgan launched Onyx Louge, a virtual lounge in Decentraland, calling the metaverse a “$1 trillion opportunity.”