Coras

Jan 23, 2023

Share Coras , a Dublin-based companythat enables online brands to sell tickets for events and attractions, islaunching a loyalty token platform with its first brand partner, RakutenTickets. The platform, known as Fida , providesthe infrastructure for brands of any kind to issue their own blockchain-basedloyalty tokens to their customers. Unlike traditional loyalty points, thesetokens - built on the ERC-20 standard of the Ethereum network - are transferable,interoperable, provide instant liquidity and never expire. Consumers who make a purchase onRakuten Tickets in the United Kingdom and Spain will receive instructions toset up their digital wallet that is used to track, exchange and transfer tokens. For the initial launch withRakuten, consumers will receive Fida tokens, but CEO Mark McLaughlin says thisis intended to demonstrate how the system works so in the future brands –including travel suppliers such as hotels – can launch their own tokens thatfunction in the same way. Get a dose of digital travel in your inbox each day Subscribe to our newsletter below Submit “This will act as a roadmap, ademonstration of how a brand’s token will work,” McLaughlin says. “And brands are much more open tothat because they can see the end-to-end flow without any risk.”  McLaughlin believes this type ofdecentralized, interoperable, transferable token is the future for loyaltyprograms across any sector and can become a differentiator for brands thatoffer it. “It becomes an incentive forconsumers to buy from you, which is what loyalty really is … and the smartbrands are really beginning to understand they need to at least experiment withthis type of interoperable loyalty,” he says. McLaughlin says the Fida tokensolution is immediately available for brands that currently use Coras’ticketing API, including Ryanair, Frontier Airlines and Staycity Aparthotels, andhe is in talks with several other travel brands, including a large airline,that may come on board soon. McLaughlin says later this year thesystem will enable redemption, so customers can use their tokens to purchasegoods and services. In December 2021,McLaughlin participated in a PhocusWire Pulse event on loyalty to discussinitial plans for Fida. Watch the full interview below. PhocusWire Pulse: Emerging Innovation - Loyalty moves into a new phase