Share this article
Bank of America Files for Blockchain 'ATM as a Service' Patent
Bank of America may be eyeing “ATM as a Service” solutions powered by blockchain tech, according to a newly revealed patent application.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:42 a.m. Published Dec 26, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
Bank of America may be eyeing shared networks of ATMs powered by blockchain tech, according to a newly revealed patent application.
The filing, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday, outlines a system via which a cash-handling devices could utilize blockchain technology to “accelerate transaction speed and/or facilitate other types of transactions in addition to ATM transactions like cash withdrawals and deposits, such as gift registry transactions.”
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Blockchain could also help such devices “handle a relatively larger amount of transaction volume while reducing its physical cash transportation needs,” the document reads.
Currently, most ATMs are dedicated to their respective banks and those institutions' operating systems, Bank of America said in the filing, yet support for multi-purpose, "multi-tenant" – different stakeholders that share access to a single software system – functions is needed to offer various micro-services related to brand and marketing opportunities.
The bank is effectively looking to implement “ATM as a Service” to enable customers without existing relationship with a participating financial institution to transfer money across the same ATM network or even access point-to-point video communication using the ATM.
As the patent explains that, to do this, the system would implement an "open and robust" data transport layer with "full" encryption and security.
It goes on:
"The data transport supporting ATM management, signaling, and non-financial institution and financial institution transactions may be strictly communicated to a cloud platform ... and subsequent hosting of web and application services may allow secure and scalable operations. "
The patent filing is just the latest to emerge from Bank of America, which has filed more than 50 blockchain-related patents as of August 2018, according to a research report by iPR Daily, a media outlet specializing in intellectual property.
Last month, the bank was awarded a patent for a novel method for storing cryptocurrencies.
Bank of America ATM image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Coinbase Sees Crypto Recovery Ahead as Liquidity Improves and Fed Rate Cut Odds Climb
The crypto exchange also took note of a so-called AI bubble that continues to go strong and a weaker U.S. dollar.
What to know:
- Coinbase Institutional is seeing a potential December recovery in crypto, citing improving liquidity and a shift in macroeconomic conditions that could favor risk assets like bitcoin.
- The firm's optimism is driven by rising odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 93% chance easing next week, and improving liquidity conditions.
- Several recent institutional developments, including Vanguard's crypto ETF policy reversal and Bank of America's greenlighting of crypto allocations, have contributed to bitcoin's rebound from recent lows.
Top Stories
