MasterCard has been granted a patent related to bitcoin and other virtual currency.

According to a recent filing, titled “Payment Interchange For Use With Global Shopping Cart,” and first noted by LetsTalkBitcoin.com, MasterCard was granted on June 19 a patent for the bitcoin virtual wallet. The patent application was initially filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in March 2013.

The inventors of the technology behind the patent were both MasterCard employees. The patent was granted to Jennifer Dogin, vice president of emerging payments and E/M commerce, and Brian Maw, MasterCard’s senior consultant for emerging product development, at the time of filing. Maw is now chief technology officer of Maxwell Forrest Inc., provider of a “wallet, smartphone, and personal identity protection solution,” according to the company’s website.

The MasterCard patent is for a “payment interchange” for a number of payment modes and sources, including “non-traditional modes or sources of payment.” The patent lists “barter, virtual currency, bitcoin, social media credits, automated clearing house (ACH), and coupons” as some of those “non-traditional” payment options.

It’s also noteworthy that the patent lets users pay through “biometric payment, enhanced mobile payment through a camera or geo-location device,” which is interesting as Apple opened up its fingerprint sensor to third-party developers in the recently-introduced iOS 8. Could MasterCard be looking to add Touch ID integration to its iOS apps?

MasterCard’s patent surrounds an API framework that lets users link to and pay with other wallets, includingMasterPass, Google Wallet, PayPal, C-SAM, ISIS, and others outlined in the filing. The API also “supports an interface” to accept “Amazon virtual currency, paying with rewards points, bitcoin, virtual card numbers, and the like.” This means that MasterCard could be gearing up to support bitcoin wallets.

MasterCard has been active in the virtual currency area. We previously wrote that MasterCard hired five Washington, D.C., lobbyists a few months ago to learn more about bitcoin. In addition, LetsTalkBitcoin.com reported that MasterCard’s Insights blog has written extensively about bitcoin, with posts like “Bitcoin, Sovereigns and the End Times” and “Peer-To-Peer Needs Peer Evaluations.”

Does this mean MasterCard is working to incorporate bitcoin into its services? It’s hard to say. Companies file for patents all the time, and many of them don’t result in any concrete product or business practice. However, it’s clear that MasterCard is aware of the growing popularity of bitcoin and seems to be eager to be ahead of the curve.