Singapore Airlines launches blockchain-based loyalty wallet KrisPay

SIA has been on a roll this year, having won the title as the world’s best airline and being first to deploy a blockchain-based rewards platform.

In a press release, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced yesterday that they are launching the world’s first blockchain-based airline loyalty digital wallet called KrisPay, which would complement their KrisFlyer frequent-flyer program. Flyers can convert their KrisFlyer miles to KrisPay miles and instantly use them for purchases made at partner merchants.

The project was co-developed by KPMG Digital Village and Microsoft. And there are currently 18 merchants through which customers can use these points at point-of-sale as if they were cash.

In the release, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said the move would help extend the benefits of miles to loyal members’ everyday lives.

“We are excited to be introducing KrisPay, a novel way for our KrisFlyer members to digitally access their miles at their fingertips, at any time. By creating a miles-based digital wallet which integrates the use of miles into their daily lives, KrisFlyer members have yet another way to use miles instantly on everyday transactions,” he said.

SIA has been on a roll this year. They’ve been named as the world’s number one airline at the World Airline Awards in London for this year, usurping Qatar Air. Shortly after that was when they first announced that they were dabbling in blockchain technology.

SIA is not the only one looking to blockchain technology as a solution to disrupt the way airlines manage their operations. A startup called Sandblock was also built on the promise of making it easy to redeem rewards points. Another startup, Trustabit, tackles an even bigger problem for the airline industry by streamlining and automating the generation of flight vouchers to minimize passenger frustration in case their flight is cancelled and they need to be rescheduled.

In a post, global management firm Accenture wrote about the possibilities of blockchain tech for the airline industry, particularly for ticketing, loyalty, security and identity, and maintenance.

“Blockchain technology will continue to take flight in airlines over the next decade. Use cases not even conceived of today will become everyday, reducing complexity and costs while improving the travel journey with real-time travel experiences,” they wrote.