BRICS Loyalty — a blockchain-based loyalty programme
What BRICS Loyalty is, how it differs from regular bonus programmes, what value it brings retailers, and why this technology is the future. A long read for anyone considering a loyalty programme — or just wanting to understand how they work.
Loyalty programmes are a huge business. Per Bond Brand Loyalty, the average American is in 16+ programmes; in Russia and China the number is lower but still material. Shops, airlines, banks, cafes — everyone has rolled out their bonuses, points, miles and cashback. What do they all have in common? Almost all run on 1980s-era tech: a centralised database where the merchant credits points to your account. BRICS Loyalty offers a different approach — a loyalty programme on blockchain, with benefits for everyone involved.
What BRICS Loyalty is, in one sentence
A White Label platform for launching a loyalty programme on blockchain infrastructure. White Label means you get a ready-made “engine” you stick your brand on. No need to develop the system from scratch, no need to hire a programming team — you receive a working platform whose rules you tune to your business.
Developed with support from the Skolkovo Foundation — Russia’s largest innovation hub — and integrated with the BRICS Pay ecosystem. The loyalty platform and the payment system can work together: pay in a shop via BRICS Pay — the merchant’s loyalty points are credited automatically.
Four stages of how the platform works
Marketing has a classic revenue-growth formula: identification → segmentation → motivation → communication. Four sequential steps that turn one-off buyers into repeat customers. BRICS Loyalty provides tools for each.
1. Identification
First you need to know who your customer is. The platform supports many ID methods: plastic loyalty cards, phone number, email, mobile app. Output — a 360-degree customer profile: gender, age, purchase history, average ticket, favourite categories. All personal data is collected and stored automatically per local law (152-FZ in Russia, GDPR in Europe, etc.).
2. Segmentation
When you have thousands of customers, you can’t address each one individually. So you split them into groups (segments) by similar attributes and work with groups. BRICS Loyalty provides online reports on customers and transactions, plus three kinds of segmentation: socio-demographic (gender, age, geo), cohort (groups arrived in one period) and behavioural (by purchase patterns).
3. Motivation
Flexible rules for crediting bonuses: “1 point per 100 RUB spent”, “double points on weekends”, “10% off on your birthday”. Triggers: amount, period, specific product, frequency. Personalised promos — e.g. “new customer hasn’t bought anything for 30 days — send a 15% discount”.
4. Communication
Free push notifications regardless of audience size — a key differentiator. Many loyalty platforms charge per message, and with a million customers marketing gets expensive. BRICS Loyalty removes that barrier. Plus instant sync with the app, an informative balance and history screen.
Why blockchain here
Fair question: “loyalty works at Starbucks and Aurora without any blockchain — why complicate things?” Answers, point by point.
Transparency and trust
Every credit and debit of points is recorded in an immutable journal. If a customer was credited 100 points and then they were “lost” — they can prove it any time. Previously such disputes were resolved on the merchant’s side and usually not in the customer’s favour.
Protection from double crediting
Point-padding schemes used to be a frequent retail problem. With blockchain, smart contracts exclude such manipulations at the maths level — points cannot be credited for one transaction twice.
Decentralised network
If a major retailer’s loyalty database goes down, all programmes stop. With a distributed network there is no single point of failure — Black Friday won’t take the server out.
Automation and smart contracts
Crediting rules execute programmatically without human input. “Buy 5 — get the 6th free” works transparently, automatically, without errors.
Global portability
In classic programmes, points are locked inside one network. Earn at Aeroflot — spend only at Aeroflot. Blockchain points can move between ecosystem touchpoints — earn at one shop, spend at another partner.
Stronger data protection
Encryption and access control at the protocol level. Every operation is signed; unauthorised access attempts are immediately visible. Important after several high-profile loyalty-database leaks in Russia and abroad.
AI works for you
A modern loyalty programme is not just point accounting but a full analytics platform. BRICS Loyalty embeds several AI tools:
- Smart reports on customer behaviour and campaign performance — the system suggests which promo worked, which didn’t, and why.
- Demand forecasting — based on historical data, the model predicts which products will fly and which will become deadstock. Helps with purchasing decisions.
- Sales-channel expansion — the system identifies which channels (push, email, SMS, messenger) best reach a specific segment.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) — the average “lifetime revenue” from a customer. A key retail metric: it shows how much one acquired buyer brings over the entire relationship.
Who BRICS Loyalty is for
The platform is designed to be universal but fits three business types particularly well:
- Retail chains — apparel, electronics, FMCG. The main task is converting one-off visitors into regulars, raising average ticket and visit frequency.
- Cafes, restaurants, food service — winning customers in a competitive field. Frequency bonuses, cashback, social promos.
- Services — beauty salons, garages, gyms, education platforms. Anyone for whom repeat purchase matters.
Link to BRICS Pay
The main edge over competitors is BRICS Loyalty’s native integration with the BRICS Pay payment system. When a customer pays through BRICS Pay, the loyalty platform automatically:
- Identifies the customer by their BRICS Pay account
- Credits points per the merchant’s rules
- Can offer instant discount paid for by accumulated points
- Records everything into the shared blockchain journal
That removes retail’s main headache — “loyalty card left at home”. The customer pays as usual, loyalty works automatically.
Want to launch a loyalty programme?
Get in touch with the BRICS Loyalty team via the official site or our consultant — we’ll share details and help with integration.
Free consultation