This year saw a number of major airlines pushing their loyalty programmes toward a blockchain-based service.
Earlier this month, Lufthansa and SAP announced the winners of their Aviation Blockchain Challenge. A start-up company called Sweetbridge was the winner in the ‘Traveller Challenge’ category, with a statement from Lufthansa saying: “The start-up has created a blockchain-based financial marketplace where various financial and treasury transactions can take place – from factoring to short-term financing. With the help of Sweetbridge, companies can operationalise partially tied-up capital and use it elsewhere.”
According to the statement, loyalty programmes may be a viable option for this. Simran Maini-Hoskins, head of communications at Sweetbridge, told eTNW that the company had an incentive and rewards system built into its accounting protocol. “This rewards programme offers a unique ability to tokenise discounts of any kind – rebates, rewards, sales, coupons, incentives etc.”
This year saw Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer programme, KrisFlyer, launch a blockchain-based digital wallet called KrisPay. The platform allows members to convert their KrisFlyer miles into KrisPay miles instantly, which can then be used for spending at partner merchants across the country.
The Cathay Pacific Group and its rewards programme, Asia Miles, in partnership with Accenture, have also launched a blockchain-based platform and mobile application for a dining promotion in Hong Kong. The use of blockchain technology enabled members to have the miles they had earned credited to their accounts the next day, and provided a single-data source when managing account activity, meaning Asia Miles partners and members had almost immediate management of their rewards.
