Introducing a new approach for the rewards ecosystem
A common currency for reward points would need to
encompass the entire ecosystem, including card-issuing banks,
credit card networks, merchant acquiring banks, payment
gateway services, and merchants. The overall complexity of this
undertaking explains why a common rewards currency hasn’t
been feasible – until now.
Blockchain technology now makes it possible to create
distributed shared ledgers that are robust and scalable enough to
support an entire ecosystem without the difficulty and expense
involved with traditional database deployments.
With a private, permissioned blockchain, each participant in
the ecosystem can perform verified updates on a single source of
data.
Issuers will be able to locate their customers’ accounts on the
shared ledger and credit them with reward points immediately
based on real-time spending.
Merchants and their acquiring banks will be able to debit reward
points according to real-time customer instructions, whether
delivered in-person or online.
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Benefits for customers:
n Consolidates reward points
across issuer relationships
n Improved ability to make
higher-value purchases
n Flexibility in using reward
points without restrictions
n Vastly superior customer
experience
Benefits for merchants:
n Higher customer
spending
n Easier acceptance of
rewards points
n Custom offers and
promotions