RewardLoop Brings Secure, Transaction-Based Restaurant & Retail Loyalty Programs to Mobile Phones Via QR Codes and NFC

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RewardLoop, the company enabling secure, card-less customer loyalty transactions via mobile phones, today announced a universal Point of Sale (POS) adaptor that enables restaurants and retailers of any size to simply and cost-efficiently deploy a secure, transaction-based mobile loyalty program. The patent-pending RewardLoop Connect adaptor connects easily to merchants’ existing Point of Sale (POS) systems, and can be set up in minutes.

“The universal compatibility of RewardLoop Connect across a deeply fragmented global POS ecosystem is nothing short of groundbreaking”

RewardLoop’s turnkey mobile loyalty programs are ideal for independent and chain merchants alike, including coffee shops, restaurants, retailers, local service providers, and other high purchase volume / frequency categories.

Transactional Loyalty

RewardLoop differentiates itself from an ever-growing number of mobile ‘check-in’ -based loyalty programs by offering a first-of-its-kind transaction-based mobile loyalty platform that offers a level of security comparable to traditional card-based programs.

“For a mobile loyalty program to deliver value and be successful in our business, it needs to be transactional and secure. RewardLoop is the only solution we’ve seen that meets these criteria,” said Tim Kraus, Interactive Marketing Manager at Quiznos USA.

RewardLoop Mobile Loyalty Programs

Through its RewardLoop Connect device, RewardLoop prints transaction-identifying QR codes on merchant bills and receipts. Consumers scan these secure, one-time-use QR codes with their mobile phones to earn and redeem merchant-defined loyalty rewards through RewardLoop’s cloud hosted platform. RewardLoop’s mobile-rendered stamp cards show users their earning progress towards each reward (Video demo: http://www.rewardloop.com/rewardloop-connect ).

How the RewardLoop Connect Device Works

RewardLoop’s groundbreaking innovation, RewardLoop Connect, is a device that sits between the merchant’s POS system and receipt printer. It intercepts the print data stream, adds a RewardLoop QR code, and then passes the print command to the printer. The printer prints the receipt exactly as delivered from the POS system, but inserts an extra footer that includes the merchant’s secure, one-time-use, RewardLoop QR codes. The device also prints QR codes for secure reward validation and redemption. When these codes are scanned by a customer the customer is delivered to a hosted, merchant-branded mobile application optimized for the user’s mobile phone.

Universal POS Compatibility

RewardLoop Connect is universally compatible with the world’s leading POS platforms. “The universal compatibility of RewardLoop Connect across a deeply fragmented global POS ecosystem is nothing short of groundbreaking,” says RewardLoop CTO, Jeff LaPorte. “This innovation provides unmatched reach across the merchant landscape for rapid scalability of our merchant network by RewardLoop and its strategic partners.” RewardLoop is ‘plug & play’ compatible with any POS system that prints to Epson or Epson-compatible receipt printers, which comprise an estimated 85% of the worldwide receipt printer market.

RewardLoop Connect – NFC

In addition to QR code-based consumer transactions, RewardLoop Connect has been designed with ports for Near Field Communications (NFC) scanners that will be enabled when market penetration of NFC-enabled devices reaches a tipping point. “We view QR codes as a strategic, transitional technology between physical cards and NFC,” says RewardLoop CEO, Nigel Malkin, “Those who leverage QR code-based technologies to mass-transition their users onto mobile phones today, will have a strategic advantage in winning the NFC races of tomorrow.”

Partnerships with Point of Sale (POS) Industry

In contrast to new mobile merchant offerings billing themselves as replacements for legacy POS systems, RewardLoop Connect has been designed to secure the role of POS platforms in the payments ecosystem. RewardLoop Connect enhances the value and relevance of existing POS infrastructure while helping POS platforms accelerate their evolution into mobile.

Forward-thinking POS platform vendors and service providers are readying to distribute the device. “The POS industry is embracing the RewardLoop Connect device and platform as a simple way to accelerate their evolution into mobile under a common set of standards,” says Malkin. For merchants whose POS vendors or service providers are slow in adopting the new standard, merchants can easily self-deploy RewardLoop Connect in a matter of minutes.”

Pricing

RewardLoop Connect devices will be available exclusively on a rental basis for $19.95 per month. As a special introductory offer, merchants who order their RewardLoop Connect units on, or before July 31, 2011 will have their monthly RewardLoop Connect device rental fees waived for 6 months. Merchants can try out the benefits of RewardLoop for free for up to 50 customers before transitioning to RewardLoop’s performance-based pricing model.

Licensing

Beyond the company’s core focus on secure, transaction-based mobile loyalty programs, the RewardLoop Connect network, device and intellectual property (IP) have been designed to solve challenges faced by several parallel industries. These solutions and IP are available under license to market-leaders in these industries.

Recent Financing

RewardLoop is also pleased to announce it has recently closed a seed financing round led by Canadian angel investor Boris Wertz (W Media Ventures) with the participation of prominent executives from leading online and offline retailers.

About RewardLoop

RewardLoop provides card-less loyalty programs for the mobile era. The company’s patent-pending innovations enable a merchant of any size to simply and cost-efficiently identify their most profitable customers, and engage them in individualized, transaction-based customer loyalty relationships via their mobile devices. The company is acclaimed for its groundbreaking RewardLoop Connect invention, a plug & play, a POS-agnostic device that supports both QR code-based and NFC–based transactions, and is universally compatible with the world’s leading POS platforms. The real-time transaction-level aspects of the innovation combined with its secure mobile redemption capabilities and unprecedented cross-POS scalability have strategic implications that span several industries. More information about the company can be found at www.rewardloop.com.