Stablecoin Issuer Circle Signs MoU with Hong Kong Telecom for Customer Loyalty Solutions

Circle, the issuer of USDC stablecoin, has teamed up with Hong Kong Telcom (HKT) to explore customer loyalty solutions. Based on Web3 tech, the solution will enhance how consumers engage with merchants, pushing for dynamic engagement experiences.

We have teamed up with HKT to explore transforming customer loyalty with a cutting-edge Web3 customer loyalty solution in Hong Kong, bringing the future of customer engagement to merchants in the market.

Read more about the collaboration: https://t.co/M6Zqto5c0f

— Circle (@circle) October 29, 2024

The partners officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday. The solution would leverage Circle’s expertise in Web3 Services and HKT’s extensive merchant-customer engagement capabilities.

Consumers’ expectations for loyalty programs have gradually evolved. Per Statista, the global loyalty market size is said to be 5.57 billion USD and 70% of consumers say that loyalty programs are a leading factor in their purchasing decisions.

Circle offers a comprehensive suite of enterprise-grade developer tools, which enable faster, easier and safer to build solutions on blockchain.

According to the official statement, the collaboration would include Circle’s Programmable Wallets to streamline the Web3 experience. It would enable the partners to safely harness digital assets and smart contracts in their existing consumer and enterprise applications.

“This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to helping businesses unlock the potential of blockchain technology to create value-driven customer experiences, redefining loyalty programs and providing merchants with the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy,” Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, noted.

Circle Brings Loyalty Programs On-Chain

Early this year, the crypto company introduced Circle’s Smart Contract Platform, which establishes on-chain loyalty programs within user’s applications, allowing them to earn and redeem rewards seamlessly.

A shift from traditional methods to on-chain loyalty programs has the potential to foster innovative experiences and enable brands to expand their reach to other communities, the company said.

Further, Web3’s decentralised nature allows for innovative reward structures like tokenisation, creating new value forms for customers.

In January, payments behemoth Visa released a Web3 loyalty service that involved gamified giveaways. Visa’s platform let brands create digital wallets where they can store reward points and experiences on behalf of consumers.

Additionally, top designer brands like Hugo Boss have banked on Web3 to boost customer loyalty.