Blockchain loyalty startup qiibee has entered into a partnership with Italian Retail Association Confimprese, which will allow it to harness the latter’s extensive relationships with some of the world’s most renowned brands.

Founded in 1999, Confimprese is an association of modern commerce companies – franchising, retail, and direct networks – operating throughout Italy. It aims to protect the interests of companies within the association by supporting their development both in Italy and abroad.

Members include fast food giant KFC, coffee maker Lavazza, and the largest publishing house in Italy, Mondadori. Disney, Pandora, and petrol station network, Agip, which has more than 6,000 points of sale in Italy, are also listed among its customer base. Confimprese represents more than 300 commercial brands, 30,000 points of sale, 600,000 operators, and 16% of the retail turnover.

Founded in 2015 by Gabriele Giancola and Gianluca Giancola, qiibee is a loyalty token protocol that helps brands around the world run their loyalty programs on the blockchain. With this partnership, qiibee's services have already been offered to Confimprese's 300 members, with negotiations ongoing.

“What qiibee are doing is revolutionary, and I am convinced that this is the type of development that is necessary for the next generation of retail companies in Italy to evolve,” said Mario Resca, President of Confimprese. “With qiibee, the customer journey is turned on its head as loyalty points remain at the forefront of customers’ minds, driving them to make purchases and propelling them to be advocates of the loyalty ecosystem. Repeat custom is the basis of traditional loyalty programs, however this often results in customers waiting a significant length of time to claim a free coffee for example. With qiibee, customers are presented with a greater variety of reward options, including the ability to exchange their loyalty points for cryptocurrency or fiat, which could potentially rise in value.”

Gabriele Giancola said qiibee’s protocol not only enhances security by using blockchain technology, but also allows customers to earn real value by enabling them to sell their loyalty tokens for other cryptocurrencies or fiat.

“Within the qiibee ecosystem, customers will always have full control of, and transparency about, their loyalty programs and tokens. We want to offer Confimprese and its member brands the possibility of engaging with blockchain technology without the need for cost-intensive integration for brands or an upfront investment for customers,” Giancola added.