Covid also presented JP Morgan with an opportunity to buy the world’s biggest third-party credit card loyalty operator and, in doing so, gave it access to 70 million people who were members of loyalty programs globally. Indeed, loyalty programs are very valuable. Inc.com reported last year that American Airlines generated $6.5billion of “proforma cash sales” in 2019. American Airlines, with a capitalisation of $15billion, was issuing a debt instrument valued at $7billion backed by its loyalty program - AAdvantage. Loyalty programs are both a huge and global business with the market set to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.0% between 2019-2024.

Loyalty management market growth rate by region (2019-2024)

Source: ModorIntelligence.com

The loyalty industry is an ever-growing one given that, in a survey by Smallbizgenius, 75% of consumers said they preferred those companies which offer rewards. Of note, 87% of Americans don’t mind their data being tracked due to the rewards they get from loyalty programs, notably at a point in time when the public is actually wary and critical of how its data is being used. Furthermore, in a study by Bond, 95% of loyalty program members also wished to engage with their brand’s program through new and emerging technologies. This intersection is where loyalty programs can implement Blockchain technology, in the form of NFTs, to help their programs. The role of Blockchain technology and digital assets for loyalty programs is just beginning to unfold. NFTs, powered by Blockchain technology, will undoubtedly change the loyalty industry and already we have seen a number of global brands embracing NFTs as part of their loyalty programs. Three examples include Burger King, Clinique and Marriott Hotels. Unsurprisingly though, there are both merits and challenges that come with the inculcation of NFTs into loyalty programs: 

Merits

• publicity - NFTs have amassed a cult-like following from people all over the world (in part attracted

by FOMO) as prices of some NTFs have risen dramatically, also offering owners of intellectual property (IP) a new way to commercialise their IP. There is no such thing as bad press in marketing; businesses which imbibe Blockchain technology into their loyalty programs should have no time gaining a high number of loyal customers. What’s a loyalty program without loyal customers?

• easy to create - the democratisation of NFTs is one of the features that made it mainstream and this is due to the ease with which NFTs can be created. Companies can then focus time on planning for the longevity of the programs, securing maximum customer engagement whilst ensuring the loyalty programs match their brand identity.

• exclusivity - NFTs, by nature, are unique and scarce and this feature alone will make most participate in loyalty programs. These NFTs are not exclusive for the sake of rarity or merely to create urgency. In the loyalty program, the rarer the NFT, the more the benefits and rewards are attached to them.

• innovative - as stated here, customers wish to have experience with new technologies, and NFTs will make the desire of many come to life. From the monetary and social value of NFTs, they will deliver new experiences within communities of loyalists. This innovation allows brands build loyal communities, and work with other brands whilst primarily rewarding their consumers.

Challenges 

• user-friendliness - Blockchain technology remains a technology which is not fully understood. Often, there is often a lack of awareness and experience in how best to use this technology, let alone NFTs, and this can affect the rate of adoption in the loyalty industry. For this to be overcome, brands need to make their NFTs more user-friendly. This is a problem many new technologies face but, over time, the technology will gain better understanding and corporations will know how best to use it to help achieve their goals. 

• the unpredictability of the market - the average person always hears news of the volatility of NFTs and cryptocurrencies and this poses a large problem for brands hoping to use NFTs (which are, in effect, a subset of the crypto market). To overcome this problem, brands hoping to inculcate the technology should focus on the engagement and community-building side of it. A good example of this is the way in which Louis Vuitton is using NFTs to raise awareness about the technology.

• implementation - for a project to be appreciated, it must be valued by its consumers. Before brands launch their NFTs, they need to dedicate resources so as to ensure their customers see value in what the brands are doing. If not, their project could fail and thus backfire on the image, whereby having a negative impact on the brand’s value. For example, the use of blockchain and the amount of energy it requires to operate could be seen as detrimental to a firm’s Environmental Social Governance (ESG) credentials. Blockchain technology is still evolving and problems are certainly being tackled. For instance, Ethereum 2.0 promises to handle the challenges it has faced over the cost and speed of carrying out transactions on this particular blockchain. Furthermore, environmentalists have voiced concerns about this, proposing that Bitcoin gets rid of its ‘Proof of Work’ in order to handle its energy problem. 

NFTs are already being used by a number of global brands as part of their loyalty programs and the use of smart contracts enables NFTs to be programmable. This means they can operate in a similar fashion to a loyalty program, offering customers access to those exclusive events, special discounts or purchases needing to be used within a specific time limit. Income from initial or secondary NFT sales (similar to royalty revenue from music or films) can then be programmed to be paid automatically to the brand and used to fund additional rewards, thus supporting consumers and enhancing a loyalty program. This offers companies the opportunity to create loyalty programs with a new and more direct method of thanking customers for their loyalty. It also creates an opportunity to build a highly engaged community.

It has disintermediated many of the usual agents, brokers and other intermediaries which are so prevalent in existing financial services. In theory, this means that the public can get the best deals on financial products without having to trade with a third party. In many jurisdictions, governments have actively encouraged ‘open banking’ and the establishment of neo-banks/challenger banks, but DeFi offers the promise of even greater competition for established financial institutions and thus greater choice for buyers of financial products and services.

Source: Twitter

DeFi is a financial application built using blockchain-powered platforms and designed to disrupt the traditional finance world. It is a financial application on open, programmable blockchains and covers activities such as saving, lending, sending money, trading, investing and more. Rather than relying on third parties, DeFi encourages open-source cooperation whilst maintaining security. These DeFi applications are built using cryptographic data bases not relying on having the information stored or maintained at one location or fileserver, which means that they have in-built disaster recovery. Another feature is that by using Blockchain technology, DeFi offers greater transparency for the buyers, sellers and regulators and therefore it ought to, if designed correctly, engender enhanced levels of trust. With adaptation of traditional financial tools to the DeFi world, it is advancing at a fast rate. There is an expectation that other industries will follow suit in the near future.

What DeFi offers 

DeFi products and services are available to anyone who has a digital wallet and an internet connection, no matter where they are in the world. Users can trade and/or move their assets wherever they want, without having to wait for bank transfers or pay traditional bank fees which can sometimes be subject to delays and are very often restricted to standard 09.00 to 17.00 working hours, five days a week. DeFi markets trade 24/7 and are helping to democratise banking and finance by making financial services easily accessible to anyone.

Transactions are public

The Ethereum blockchain is responsible for typically more than 90% of all DeFi transactions, which means every transaction is broadcast to and checked by multiple users. This means that anyone can see what transactions are happening in a very transparent manner. DeFi applications can be a game-changer since they give investors more information than they typically would have had access to. DeFi can also help to ensure that people have access to market leading products and services. 

DeFi is secure

With no central authorities, users do not have to worry about the safety of their money because users are always in charge of their capital at all times. However, as with any new technology, there are risks associated with DeFi platforms particularly if smart contracts (which power many DeFi platforms) have not been fully stress-tested against heist and hackers. In 2021, DeFi platforms saw over $10billion being stolen so clearly more needs to be done to address this in order to protect investors in this sector.

DeFi’s uniqueness

DeFi loans are one of the popular applications. DeFi platforms link borrowers with lenders, hence eliminating the credit check process and making the process both more efficient and not subject to intermediaries taking fees or incurring mistakes. The use of Blockchain technology offers the promise of lower counterparty risk, so providing cheaper and faster loans without geographical limitations. Indeed, DeFi is potentially helping to make less relevant those national boundaries which present major challenges for regulators looking to protect their citizens. It is highly likely that there will be users of DeFi applications in one jurisdiction executing transactions but not knowing where the DeFi platform is actually based, which makes it more than a challenge in the event of a claim or problem. 

This inability to know where to go to (and to whom) in the event of a DeFi default problem is juxtaposed to the current regulatory framework which has been built around accountability and senior management responsibilities. Whilst we are all only too familiar with Know Your Client (KYC) in the event when users wish to make a claim, they may well find the DeFi platform is not regulated - nor does it have any insurance. However, in order for DeFi applications to be utilised by institutions, it will be necessary for DeFi platforms to be licensed in order to pass those due diligence checks that traditional financial services forms require. Already there are companies such as Swarm Markets, which is licensed by the German regulator BaFin, making it easier for institutions to use and so trail DeFi applications.

Play-to-earn

The on-line gaming industry has also been quick to embrace decentralised technologies and it has been predicted that GameFi will grow to be worth over $317billion by 2027. GameFi is where players are rewarded for their in-game skills with DeFi coins, having the opportunity to be paid while they play.

Yield farming

Liquidity mining (or yield farming) involves locking up digital resources to generate income (i.e., a yield) which are normally delivered automatically by smart contracts. During the last few years, the DeFi space has grown considerably. According to Finance Monthly: “(DeFi) is booming, with the total value locked – the overall value of assets deposited in transactions – having risen from $700 million in December 2019 to over $200 billion at the beginning of 2022, equivalent to Greece’s 2017 GDP”.

Yet DeFi, is barely three years old, with many of its services becoming mainstream for the crypto community in the ‘2021 DeFi summer’. Lending platforms such as Aave and Compound, together with decentralised exchanges such as Curve and Uniswap, cemented their positions as the market-leading protocols with the first-mover advantage. Some argue that the penetration of DeFi has only just started, and with the resources and talent flowing into this sector it is likely to grow 100x in the next 5 years as it transforms conventional financial services. Arguably, DeFi could foster greater application of Blockchain technology in the financial services sector with the value benefits of immutability, transparency and decentralisation. However, DeFi still fosters challenges it needs to address (such as scalability) and regulation needs to be given the opportunity to catch up with the technology and the decentralised cross- border nature of DeFi.