(BlockBar) Bank of America recently filed a patent for a real-time settlement system that uses the XRP Ledger network. In its patent filing, bank of America recognized the potential impact on banking and accounting practices for distributed ledger technology (DLT). The patent reveals the unique purpose of Ripple ledger for improving transaction efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

The Bank of America is leading the patent race for the informal blockchain, shunning companies such as IBM and alibaba. That doesn’t mean bank of America is bullish on cryptocurrencies, however, the company has been openly critical of cryptocurrencies, and its reliance on patents is largely seen as an advance in the fintech world. As early as March 2014, the bank applied for the first patent related to blockchain. Bank of America now holds the most blockchain patents

As stated by documents uploaded, the patent describes a system that employs distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a tool for inter-bank communication. The proposed system would make it possible to settle transactions in real time through a shared, decentralized ledger into which both Banks could access.

Decentralized networks can verify the identities of payers and recipients and allow communication between agencies. It is worth noting that the multiple illustrations included in the patent explicitly reference Ripple DLT. Ripple’s underlying assets and proposed settlement gateway asset XRP are not mentioned in the patent.

Siam commercial bank, Thailand’s largest commercial bank, revealed that it will soon integrate Ripple DLT, but denied any plans to start using Ripple XRP tokens. The XRP system will be announced on June 5, the bank said in a tweet.