Bakkt, a cryptocurrency technology provider, had a significant uptick in value on as a result of its relationship with MasterCard, which provides cryptocurrency access to its clients.
MasterCard will integrate Bakkt’s cryptocurrency capabilities throughout its banking and purchasing systems, allowing consumers to purchase cryptocurrency, merchantability cryptocurrency, and clasp cryptocurrency through their wallets. This is according to the report. MasterCard partners, which include restaurants and merchants, will be able to use cryptocurrency detection and debit cards, as well as connecting crypto arsenic loyalty program benefits, in addition to conventional cryptocurrency detection and debit cards. As of June 30, MasterCard and Maestro had 2.9 billion cardinal branded cards in successful circulation arsenic.
A 169 percent increase in the banal related the quality to $25.64 per share and a 0.9 percent increase in the share price of MasterCard.
According to the story, Bakkt Executive Vice President Nancy Gordon stated, “We’re tremendously excited to partner with MasterCard to deliver crypto loyalty programs to millions of users.” The current options correlate to an unsocial accident in order to meet the growing demand for crypto, outgo, and rewards flexibility as brands and merchants want to appeal to younger customers and their transaction habits, according to the report.
Bakkt began publicly trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 18, following the announcement of its peculiar intent acquisition institution (SPAC) acquisition plans in January, which increased Bakkt’s market capitalization to $2.1 billion and enabled the company to go public.
Bakkt CEO Gavin Michael told this week that reward programs are in desperate need of an upgrade and that integer currency is a reasonable solution to the problem.
Users of Bakkt’s level are able to use the company’s app to negotiate and walk through the process of purchasing anything from bitcoins to reward points to acquisition cards. Examples include users that convert tin person integer currency to cash, nonstop acquisition cards, crypto Oregon currency to various radical Oregon currency conversions, and users who redeem hose miles for electronics.
As part of its partnership with Finastra, Bakkt is facilitating the entry of assemblage banks and credit unions (CUs) into the bitcoin market. Bakkt users can link their virtual Bakkt debit cards to Google Pay through a partnership with the search engine giant. This allows them to bargain and transact anywhere Google Pay is accepted. Bitcoin and other integer currencies would beryllium converted to fiat currency in order to change the terms of these transactions.
Often. gift cards that have not been used gather dust or are forgotten about.
In most cases, consumers will not redeem the loyalty points they have earned from a niche store simply because the retailer is one with which they buy from sporadically, and the points are not a compelling enough incentive to encourage consumers to spend there more regularly.
Then there is the airline mileage and hotel points that have expired, rendering them virtually unusable and useless to the consumer.
Gavin Michael, CEO of Bakkt, stated that the digital age has brought a way to disrupt the inflexibility of rewards programs by taking advantage of the platform model to give incentives and transferability to customers wherever they purchase. Bakkt is a newly listed digital asset network.
Through this process, an interconnected ecosystem is created, one in which brands have a natural attraction for one another can come together to develop multi-brand loyalty propositions.
Tapping Public Markets and Forming Partnerships
In terms of news coverage, Bakkt, which was created in 2018 and went public earlier this fall, has had an eventful month. Consumers may use their app to spend and manage digital assets ranging from bitcoins to loyalty points to gift cards across a network of brands, thanks to the company’s platform.
Consumers can exchange digital assets for cash whenever they want (for example, to give cryptocurrency, gift cards, or cash to other people), as well as trade airline miles for consumer electronics.
In recent pronouncements, the company stated that it would collaborate with Finastra enabling cryptocurrency trading for credit unions and local banks, among other things. Also announced was a Google partnership, which will allow Bakkt customers to integrate their Bakkt debit card into Google Pay, allowing them to conduct transactions wherever Google Pay is accepted. In order to facilitate these payments, digital assets such as cryptocurrency would be converted into fiat currency.
Bakkt announced that it intends to grow its network to greatly exceed the 100,000+ subscribers that it had at the start of the year to a projection of 31MM by 2025. According to Michael, network effects manifest themselves when consumers are able to “pay, send, purchase, and sell assets” on an interchangeable basis.
The interchangeability and fluidity of the awards represent a significant value-add for the brands. Bakkt’s “white label” capability enables companies and financial institutions to increase consumer loyalty by allowing them to redeem their points almost anyplace. This differs from the traditional, siloed model, in which loyalty points were traditionally created and distributed in order to persuade a customer to use them at the issuing merchant’s location. According to Bakkt, fungibility fosters the development of a connected network.
The Bakkt CEO went on to explain that “many retailers are now aiming to stake an important claim early in the purchasing experience and to assist them in extending their ‘funnels’ since expansion is a main priority.” In order for merchants to consistently engage with their rewards members, they must first encourage consumers to use their rewards programs more actively.
Customers may “see their brand flourish in the course of their daily lives, giving them more opportunities to perceive that brand devotion is paying off,” according to Michael.
When it comes to figures, the company announced that it had surpassed one billion points and miles linked to its app since the program’s introduction in March.
Research confirms that customers are interested in using cryptocurrency to transact, with 18 percent of consumers stating that they would be inclined to use cryptocurrency for a purchase.
Bakkt’s B2B2C business model enables the company’s platform to be accessible from the channels and platforms of its partners.
Bakkt is merely powering transactions through connectivity via an API (application programming interface), and through a platform, their CEO said it has “taken away any sense of brand conflict,” alluding to the Finastra agreement.
In his words, the platform “helps us to express ourselves in various ways. We present ourselves as a fully branded experience or as a lightly branded experience, depending on your needs. We enable our partners success. “
He stated that there is an opportunity for merchants to re-engage with consumers as a result of this.
The merchant receives complete attribution as to where the points are being spent, as well as other information about the customers – including information about how those individuals are connecting with other brands.
According to his findings, 70 percent of customers think that the ability to exchange points for cash or another digital asset is an essential feature.
Travel and entertainment firms aiming to add value to their customer engagement are among the vertical segments that have become early adopters of the model and interchangeable rewards programs, according to the Bakkt CEO.
In addition to traditional rewards and cashback, “we believe there are a number of areas where gamification and encouraging the proper actions and customers” may be applied as businesses move beyond traditional points and cashback.
He told Webster that brands might become “innovative and current” by utilizing the market for digital assets and offering rewards.
