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Latvia-based virtual currency PINS expands beyond its success in Europe, launching its strategy in Asia with new efforts in Japan and Turkey.
By Gabi Kool
After seven years of growing success in Northern Europe, the newest destination for PINS is Asia, where the Latvia-based coalition loyalty program recently started projects in Japan, Turkey and Indonesia.
As an emerging cross-border financial technology solution that bridges countries and businesses through its virtual currency, PINS has gained many users in Europe in a relatively short time. Now the company is working with Tokyo MX and Asia Business Support, establishing a joint venture to develop virtual-currency platforms in Asian markets. In August, PINS gathered partners from all over the world to Tokyo to exchange views on the market and the future of virtual currency at the PINS Talks X JAPAN DRIVE event.
During a panel discussion, guest speakers joined me to share their views on mileage service world trends and other industry developments. Other guests included Baiba Zuzena, CEO of MTG, the largest media group in Northern Europe; Alp Gurdil, CEO of Turkish Highway Public Corp.; Celerina Judisari, CEO of Indonesian media group MAHAKA; Nobu Shirota, general director of International Department of Tokyo MX TV; Shingo Okamura, President of Yokohama Stadium Co. Ltd.; and Shigeki Tanaka, producer of Asia Business Support.
As part of the PINS entry into the new markets, Tokyo MX filmed and produced a TV series to pique interest in Japan and its culture and people. It tells a love story about a young man from the Tohoku region and a young woman in Indonesia, and it created considerable interest in Japan.
The TV project also employs some of the hallmarks of the PINS loyalty philosophy. All the products and travel destinations featured in the series were commercialized, and consumers could purchase the products as well as travel experiences using PINS points. In addition, customer data garnered from this project can later be used to develop new products and services. Through these efforts, PINS aims to gather up to 1 million new users by the end of 2017.
Helping to drive Turkey highway project
Another example of the inroads PINS is making in the region comes in the form of a campaign it’s involved in with the Turkish Highway Public Corp., which hopes to decrease accidents on a major new highway under construction to connect Istanbul and Izmir. The company recently launched an experimental incentive effort using the PINS virtual currency as the service hub.
The smart-highway project will use both a point system and insurance services. It will provide maps and music services via a mobile app, as well as points to drivers who observe speed limits and demonstrate other safe driving habits. The points can be used for shopping and eating at restaurants along the highway route.
Insurance company incentives to encourage safe driving have been used in South Africa and Italy, decreasing the number of accidents on designated roads by 30%, panelists at the PINS Tokyo event said, and Turkish Highway Public Corp. hopes to see similar results from the partnership with PINS in Turkey.
One of the hallmarks of the success of PINS in Europe has been its smart use of data, and this will be just as crucial as it expands in Asia. Its goal is to bridge different countries, communities, cultures and businesses, such as aviation, retail, media, finance, sports, travel and more.
PINS is aiming for the incentives of a so-called information bank, the personal information trade that has been anticipated by the European Union. If we imagine that big data represents a person, the possibilities of this data usage will become limitless.
Gabi Kool is CEO of PINS, a virtual currency in Latvia.
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