Air Asia Catches the FinTech Trend and Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency

The largest low-cost carrier on the Asian continent, Air Asia, is planning to expand its range of services in order to enter more financial markets. Tony Fernandes, CEO of the airline, noted in a recent interview that the virtual coin will be called BigCoin.

“We have two things that are very interesting which will have relevance to ICOs, one is our loyalty card where we have [loyalty program] BIG Points, and I think those BigPoints can be easily transferred to the blockchain,” Fernandes explained.

From April 2018, customers will be able to buy tickets using fiat as well as BigCoin currencies. However, the number of possible purchases doesn’t end here because you can pay for seat upgrades, in-flight meals, and many other services within the next 3-6 months.

It is interesting to mention, that the company has already implemented a mobile wallet service, BigPay, that helps passengers buy food and drinks on the plane, removing any cash operations.

An ICO sale where you can buy the company’s currency will be started up in the near future. Besides, the designers of the project promise that all prior collected frequent flyer points of each customer will be turned into BigCoins.

Many experts criticize the whole concept of a trading coin due to its security issues and price volatility but Fernandes has no such concerns. He appreciates this financial technology for alleviating the fluctuations of global profit.

There is still not much information about this venture to understand its advantages and disadvantages. It is even unclear if Air Asia will use blockchain technology or something else.