Points International Ltd., a global loyalty and ecommerce service provider based in Toronto with offices in San Francisco and London, has launched the Points Loyalty Wallet, a multichannel loyalty platform that uses application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect businesses with loyalty program members around the world. Program providers can use the wallet to embed balance tracking metrics into online and in-app product offerings. Consumers can use the wallet to manage, track, redeem and exchange points and miles across all of their loyalty programs.
Points, a publicly traded company established in 2000, provides customized and co-branded services to many of the world's leading airline and hotel brands. The Points Loyalty Wallet provides an array of cross-promotional opportunities for service providers, who can leverage the company's loyalty commerce platform and expanded API library to access leading loyalty programs and their millions of members.
"Everything we do is built on our loyalty commerce platform," said Christopher Barnard, co-founder and President of Points. "We launched the loyalty wallet to offer one-stop shopping for developers looking to integrate the loyalty universe into a single view." Barnard summarized three essential characteristics of the program as simplicity of use, monetization of loyalty programs, and enhanced security to confirm and authenticate members.
With the Points Loyalty Wallet, large and small companies can incorporate the largest loyalty programs in the world into their payment streams, creating more incentives for their customers. For example, a hotel booking service may award an additional 4,000 points in a favorite loyalty program to consumers who use their online service, in addition to the 4,000 points they may already earn from the hotel, vastly improving affiliate margins provided by the primary hotel brand, Barnard stated. Barnard further noted next-generation loyalty programs generally scale more rapidly than traditional schemes that are layered onto pre-existing payment industry rails. "It's a different experience in the loyalty space, where you can build rails in the loyalty economy that give developers immediate access to the world's largest loyalty brands, from frequent flyer miles and hotel points to retailer and credit rewards," he said.
The Points Loyalty Wallet uses the Points Loyalty Commerce Platform to enable consumers and business owners to connect with many of the world's leading loyalty programs.
Following are some additional benefits:
Consumers can manage all of their loyalty programs in one spot, transfer points and miles between programs, and redeem them for shopping and dining gift cards. Studies have shown the average consumer belongs to 13 different reward programs. Seeing all of these programs at a glance can both simplify and enhance the user experience.
The Points Loyalty Wallet simplifies managing different loyalty programs by eliminating the need for multiple passwords and displaying all points and miles balances in a single access view, the company said. The wallet also provides real-time updates with each log-in, uses bank-level security and is compatible with a range of connected devices, including smartphones, tablets and computers.
Integrating disparate loyalty programs from around the world can be a lengthy and labor-intensive process, Barnard noted. "Matching up two big companies to get a project done can become a multi-year proposition," he said. "Why not use our APIs, backed up with a legal framework, transaction management and security and fraud protection?" 
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