RFN chart, page-1019

• 
  Reporter
  Sydney
  @SarahJaneTasker
  

Australian start-up Reffind is pushing into the global tech phenomenon blockchain in a move its chief Tim Lea says will give it a footprint to expand its services in the Asia-Pacific region.

Reffind recently announced it had acquired a substantial stake in Loyyal Corporation, a US blockchain leader in the loyalty market, through a $US2.3 million ($2.9m) transaction. The listed software-as-a-service company will have exclusive usage rights to Loyyal’s advanced blockchain technology in selected Asia-Pacific countries.

Reffind will apply the technology to its existing employee engagement and recognition platform, Wooboard.

Mr Lea, who was recently appointed to Reffind because of his blockchain expertise, said the investment helped the small Sydney-based company use blockchain in a corporate and commercial perspective.

“The blockchain is new technology and it’s about how we make sure that we are at the leading edge of implementing this technology, which will change the way we deal with money and rewards. It is transformative technology,” he said.

“Given the position of Loyyal in the global marketplace, it gives us a real major moving advantage in the Asia-Pacific region. We can now open doors we might not have been able to open.”

Blockchain uses computers with advanced encryption to keep track of transactions. Bitcoin transactions are tracked using blockchain. While many experts warn the bitcoin craze is a bubble waiting to burst, corporate heavyweights such as ASX Limited are adopting its underlying blockchain technology.

The bourse last month announced it would replace its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) with blockchain distributed-ledger technology.

Bloomberg recently argued that blockchain could be transformative.

“The distributed-ledger technology that underlies bitcoin is potentially very powerful. By reducing the need for central intermediaries, it holds out the promise of processing transactions of various kinds more efficiently than today. Many banks and exchanges are exploring these applications,” Bloomberg said.

Reffind, which has an app that manages employee referral programs for medium-to-large corporations, is banking on blockchain radically transforming employee rewards programs this year. The company said that by applying Loyyals’ advanced technology to the points-based peer recognition functionality of Wooboard, it can transform how organisations recognise and reward positive employee behaviour.

Mr Lea said while the initial focus after the Loyyal transaction would be on Reffind’s employee structures, there were obviously wider opportunities.

“Blockchain technology is evolving rapidly ... no one really knows which way blockchain is ultimately going to finish up,” he said. “Because we are a smaller tech micro cap, it means we can be more flexible on our feet. If we see there are appropriate opportunities that are aligned with our strategic objectives, then we can move into those opportunities quickly.”

Mr Lea said the Loyyal deal also gave his company the opportunity to talk to a range of multinationals that were already engaged with the Loyyal team. The San Francisco-based Loyyal Corporation has Fortune 500 clients including Deloitte, Dubai Points, IBM and iNet.