Wipro to offer blockchain for payments solutions firm Travacoin

Indian information technology (IT) services provider Wipro has said that it has partnered Dublin-based payment solutions provider Travacoin to develop a blockchain solution targeted at the airline industry. 

Travacoin will use the solution to enable airlines to initiate refunds and compensate passengers in a timely manner if and when a disruption occurs.

Krishnakumar N Menon, vice-president of service transformation and blockchain theme leader at Wipro, said that passengers will be notified of a delay or cancellation and will be refunded in this digital currency that can be used to repurchase airline tickets, book hotels and avail other airport- and travel-related services. 

Wipro also said that compensating passengers with the digital currency will help airlines reduce their administrative overheads and channel the savings to offer a better travel experience to fliers. 

According to a recent study conducted by FTI Consulting and Travacoin to find out the feasible use of digital tokens for refunds, Travacoins will save airlines between 20% and 40% of what they are currently paying passengers in cash and will also increase customer loyalty towards airlines through improved convenience during travel disruptions like airline delays.

Wipro, which works on blockchain platforms such as Hyperledeger, Ethereum, Quorum, Corda and Multichain, is also involved in a number of distributed ledger technology consortia and alliances including the Hyperledger project, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance and the Blockchain in Transport Alliance. 

In the first week of this month, Wipro said that it has partnered enterprise blockchain software company R3 to develop a blockchain-based solution to enable digital currency for interbank settlements for a consortium of Bank of Thailand and eight other commercial banks in the Southeast Asian country.

The blockchain solution, which is at a prototype stage and part of the first phase of a project named Inthanon, will enable de-centralised interbank real-time gross settlement using wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency.