Australian cryptocurrency directory and merchant hub BitScan Pty. Ltd. has partnered with custom blockchain token platform Waves to create a new blockchain-based, merchant-defined loyalty and rewards network.

Called the Incent Loyalty Network, the platform is being designed to be transportable between brands by consumers, delivering independent value outside of the issuing merchant and subsequently removing the tax burdens often associated with traditional loyalty programs.

Incent will be fully customizable with merchants being able to set any size or reward, along with the ability to pool those rewards across the network meaning there is no contingent liability.

The platform will be the first high-profile development built upon Waves’ Platform, a company that recently completed a $16 million crowdsale to support its development, a figure claimed to be the sixth largest crowdsourcing raise in history.

“Loyalty systems as they currently exist are broken. Customers receive a token that has no value beyond the issuing business; therefore, many simply don’t bother to redeem them,” BitScan Founder and Chief Executive Officer Rob Wilson said in a statement sent to SiliconANGLE. “Merchants, meanwhile, undertake a liability every time they issue a token, so the viability of these schemes relies on only a proportion of customers actually using them.

“No one gets the benefits they could. We know we can create a better proposition for merchants and customers alike. Our research shows e-commerce is crying out for a better solution — and that’s precisely our aim with Incent.”

Incent crowdsale

Incent Loyalty Network is also going down the crowdfunding path with Wave and Bitscan looking to raise a minimum of $1 million and a maximum of $5 million to fund its development. The crowdsale is being done via the purchase of tokens that rise in value as the sale proceeds.

BitScan says it has already developed a proof-of-concept wallet for Incent that allows merchants to configure issuance and redemption via a dashboard ,  sending customers a proportion of the value of each purchase in Incent, and setting the discount available for paying with Incent.

The crowdsale will raise money to integrate the software into e-commerce sites and reach out to new businesses.

Those interesting in obtaining more information or investing in the crowdsale can obtain more information from the Incent site here.

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