The aim of the trial is to use a tamper-proof blockchain to assist in verifying users’ fingerprints and to keep their coupon usage information accurate and updated across stores within the network simultaneously.
Hitachi explained that when shoppers sign up to use the system, they will register their coupon credits and biometric information, which are then encoded into a string of encrypted data and stored on the blockchain.
When initiating a transaction at a retail shop that accepts the coupons and participates in the blockchain as a node, shoppers will verify their identity with a fingerprint reading device that broadcasts the request to the network and the transaction is settled.
A group of staff from the two partners are experimenting with a coupon settlement system deployed in a KDDI store in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, as well as a local donut shop. Built by Hitachi with technology from the Hyperledger Fabric platform, the blockchain system is integrated with Hitachi’s biometric verification and KDDI’s existing coupon system.
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