American Express Hints at Metaverse Entry Through Trademark Filings

Payments giant American Express (AXP) could be readying a metaverse entry, recent trademark applications show.

The company filed trademark applications for its logos and items including the Centurion black card and “Shop Small” program. Amex is also seeking to engage in virtual payments and electronic business transactions for digital media and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

Amex’s applications come as traditional finance and large corporations increasingly aim to boost their metaverse exposure. JPMorgan recently opened a lounge in Decentraland and released a paper exploring how businesses can find opportunities in the growing metaverse.

IMA Financial Group, a large U.S. insurance broker and wealth management firm, opened a research and development facility in the Ethereum-based metaverse as well.

Read more: AMEX CEO Says Crypto Is Unlikely a Threat to Traditional Credit Cards

It may only be a matter of time before one may be purchasing consumer goods and services using mainstream credit cards in the metaverse, with large payment firms increasingly seeking to ride on fiat-to-crypto rails.

“American Express is always monitoring emerging technologies to see how they could benefit our customers, and the metaverse is a space we’re following,” an Amex spokesman told CoinDesk when asked about the company’s metaverse plans. “We have no plans to share at this time but are watching as this space evolves.”

UPDATE (March 15, 15:33 UTC): Adds comment from American Express.