Video: 10 Minute IT Jams - Introducing Loyalty Now

A new player in the loyalty technology sector is promising to make juggling reward cards a thing of the past. Anna Vashisht, Group CEO of Loyalty Now, says the Australian-headquartered business is on a mission to deliver "frictionless loyalty and reward experiences" for both members and merchants.

"In a layperson's terms, think of the old loyalty scenario, which in my opinion is loyalty 1.0 or the first generation of loyalty," Vashisht explained. "A lot of businesses used to drive engagement with their customers through traditional loyalty programmes. For example, an airline will give you a frequent flyer card, a hotel will give you a frequent-stayer card, and likewise, a retail company will give you some sort of a reward point, and so on and so forth. So, imagine a wallet filled up with a dozen plastic cards - that was loyalty 1.0."

Loyalty Now, however, wants to simplify that picture. Leveraging advances in technology, the company has created a platform that enables users to connect all their existing loyalty programmes to a single card of their choice - be it credit or debit - no matter the issuing bank or payment network.

"We tie all those loyalty programmes into your one card of choice... If you spend with your favourite merchants, your airline card, your retail card or supermarket card, your rewards are clear on your statement. It's almost a bit of magic happening in the background - no one knows how that magic happens, at least from a layperson's perspective," she said.

Vashisht emphasised that while the user experience is streamlined, the company's solutions retain the uniqueness and benefits of each individual loyalty programme. For businesses, this means their customers are still rewarded in branded, recognisable ways, but without the hassle and confusion of multiple cards or digital passes.

Importantly, Loyalty Now operates exclusively as a B2B enterprise - "We are an exclusive business-to-business company. We power those loyalty programmes. So, for example, a leading airline's programme or a leading insurance company's programme - they leverage our technology to deliver this frictionless experience to their members," she explained.

When asked about recent product innovations, Vashisht highlighted two key developments: Advanced Merchant Provisioning and improved wholesale ecosystem integration. These are targeted at making loyalty programme management both simpler and more secure for participating merchants.

Describing Advanced Merchant Provisioning, she said, "There's a lot of complex work this technology does at the backdrop to create that magic. One of the most prominent points of failure in that could be if the merchant changes their credentials... For example, if your corner coffee shop changes their merchant terminal from one provider to another, those credentials are very important to reflect in our system in a secure fashion."

Vashisht said the new technology can detect such changes remotely, ensuring everything remains current and secure without the need for staff on the ground. "We can scan the market on a very active and regular basis. That's the advanced merchant provision," she added.

The other innovation centres on integration with wholesale merchant ecosystems, namely affiliate networks who negotiate deals and offers for consumers. Loyalty Now's new technology "can connect with them seamlessly and still push those offers to customers' cards through our proprietary frictionless technology," she said.

Vashisht pointed to two trends that are guiding future product development: greater consolidation for end users, and adapting to changing financial pressures facing card issuers. "In the Australian market, the biggest problem we are solving for is essentially frictionless [experience]... Members were not pleased with the idea of having 20 cards in their pocket all the time. Even in this era of Apple Pay and Android Pay, you still have those many cards on your phone and it becomes confusing which one to click on," she said.

She continued, "Frictionless is what we are solving for - that's one of the trends. Equally, we are also solving for value creation. Credit card companies, or issuers, are under pressure from what is called interchange - essentially one of the ways they make money, which is becoming increasingly regulated." 

Loyalty Now's model is merchant-funded, meaning discounts and rewards are provided by the participating merchants rather than banks or card providers. "We bring it to life to the card member through use of technology," she said.

The company is also planning to expand its presence across the Asia-Pacific region. Already operating in Australia with a distributed workforce across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, Loyalty Now is looking at further regional growth, including New Zealand.

"We are a remote-first organisation," Vashisht explained. "Covid made us more strong and more relevant, because what we used to do during that time is now increasingly mainstream. We have a distributed workforce who work on a remote-first basis. Because of this, we can actually hire Australians from any part of Australia, by the time they have the skill and talent."

She added that Loyalty Now also maintains serviced offices in major cities for team meetings and collaboration, and expects to establish local teams in new markets as the company grows.

Asked how enterprises could get in touch, Vashisht preferred not to focus on website forms. "The primary engagement point could be our website or send a simple email... that is configured in such a way that it distributes through a CRM system and the right stakeholders, based upon their enquiry, will reach out to them," she said.

Reflecting on Loyalty Now's journey and mission, Vashisht concluded, "One of the core values of the company is innovate to win. We believe in constant innovation, constant improvement. That's what we bring to life."