This week Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced the launch of its newest payment, lifestyle, and rewards app, Kris+, an extension of its existing blockchain reward wallet KrisPay.
At its launch two years ago, KrisPay claimed to be the world’s first blockchain-based airline loyalty wallet. Singapore Airlines has now expanded this experience with Kris+, already claiming to have over 150 partners covering more than 650 outlets to provide exclusive deals for the Airline’s customers.
Kris+ has updated its interface and user experience, now allowing personalized offers to its customers based on location and interest. Travelers can earn miles from everyday expenditure, or vice versa, miles can be used as a means of payment. The app also offers customers discounts on dining, entertainment, and retail.
The previous reward system KrisPay is the miles-based digital wallet of Singapore Airline’s frequent flyer program, KrisFlyer. KrisPay’s technology was developed in collaboration with KPMG Digital Village and Microsoft. Members of the airline’s KrisFlyer could convert their miles into KrisPay tokens, which can then be spent with multiple retailers. Blockchain is used to easily onboard new partners and reconcile payments, resulting in reduced cost and increased efficiency.
Speaking about Kris+, Acting Senior VP Marketing Planning, JoAnn Tan said, “Our vision is to create a comprehensive and updated lifestyle and payments system with Kris+. This will offer even more and better options and benefits for our global customer base, and bring additional value to our partners around the world.”
SIA is not the only Airline leveraging blockchain technology. Earlier this year, blockchain firm Loyyal announced its enterprise blockchain loyalty solution is in production in the Emirates Skywards rewards program, with the companies signing a three-year deal. Beyond rewards, last year Russian Airline S7 announced it has managed payments totaling over $1 million in July through its blockchain platform.
