Royal Bank of Canada to launch blockchain loyalty program

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) president and CEO Dave McKay discussed RBC’s ongoing experimentations with the blockchain, stating that the bank may seek to launch a loyalty program that uses the technology sometime in 2016.

McKay suggested that RBC was currently looking for low-risk ways to introduce its customers to the technology, and that it felt a loyalty program was the best fit at this time.

“It would be a nice hybrid step. A loyalty account is a good, safe currency to start with,” said McKay.

McCay was less interested in bitcoin’s use case as a digital currency, noting that he doesn’t believe this application solves consumer problems.

The Royal Bank of Canada is the largest financial institution in Canada.