Squiryl partners with Sakae Sushi and Cafe Cartel, dishes 10k acorns in under a month

Singapore-based mobile loyalty app Squiryl has partnered with restaurant chains Sakae Sushi and Cafe Cartel to distribute ‘acorns’, their version of loyalty stamps, through POS systems.

The program began on the first week of July, and as of 25th the same month, about 10,359 acorns have been issued to 1,555 new and existing Squiryl users. Seven outlets from Cafe Cartel and 32 from Sakae Sushi were involved.

According to Squiryl co-founder Mulyadi Syariffudin, developing a POS solution was crucial for getting big restaurant chains on board since it reduces fraud and increases convenience. Read more

Singapore on the cusp of becoming an NFC-enabled nation; thousands of merchants involved

Previously, we’ve written that 2012 could be a big year for Near-field Communication Technology. Today, Singapore has taken a big step towards making it happen.

Gemalto, a global digital security company that is leading an NFC consortium in Singapore, has announced that it is finally ready to launch a slew of NFC-enabled mobile payment services.

The consortium, which consists of Citibank, DBS, EZ-Link, and all three mobile operators in Singapore — M1, SingTel, and StarHub,  is supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

If you’re hazy on what NFC is, it is essentially a technology that, among other uses, turns smartphones into mobile wallets. It essentially eliminates the need to bring out physical wallets and credit cards. Read more

Echelon 2012 essentials — your guide to Asia’s key tech startup event

Organized by tech blog e27 for the third year running, Echelon 2012 is a key startup launchpad in Asia with over 1,100 delegates in attendance and 50 startups exhibiting in the Marketplace. The two-day, double-track event, which will be held on 11th and 12th June, plays host to a list of distinguished speakers who will discuss the latest trends in Asia’s startup scene.

The conference will also feature a startup pitch competition, where 10 companies will take the stage to win the audience and the judges over — and hopefully secure their next round of investments. These finalists were selected from a series of Satellite events held around Asia earlier in the year.

In this page, you will find everything we have about the conference and the startups that are being showcased. Check back here often as we’ll constantly update it with more content. Read more

Squiryl seeks to do for loyalty cards what Google did for ads

Loyalty cards are inefficient and generate a lot of waste. Even digital ones. A while ago, I was at a music shop and decided to preorder a music album for a friend.

To my delight, I received two chops on Perx, a loyalty card app I recently featured. But to my dismay, I was eight chops away from getting my reward. And it’s extremely unlikely I’ll step into the store ever again — I’m just not an avid music listener.

Here’s the problem with loyalty cards: They don’t always capture loyal customers. And when they don’t, they’re a burden to merchants.

This is a problem Singapore-based startup Squiryl hopes to solve. Unlike other loyalty card apps, it allows users to swap stamps — or acorns, in their lingo — with one another.

Suppose I have two acorns at a restaurant I’ll never visit again. I can use the Trades feature to exchange acorns with others by putting up an offer. For example, I can offer two acorns from Fisherios Fish n Chips in exchange for three acorns at a Puma store. Read more

It’s all about the Benjamins at Demo Asia

We all want to make a bit more money – or at least I do! Sageby, Squiryl, and Trade Hero are three new startups betting that you want to make, keep and invest your money wisely. And they’re probably right.

Squiryl is an iPhone app that allows you to track your customer loyalty points and trade with friends. If you’re the type of person who has lost several Subway Club Cards, this is what you need to make sure you redeem your points and earn that free $5 foot long.

Just scan the QR code on the receipt to record your points (which Squiryl oddly calls acorns).   Read more

Live blog: DEMO Asia pitches by social media startups

Check out how these social media companies intend to change the way we live. Companies launching their products in this session are: MeSixty, Wildfire, DropIcon, GameMaki, Sageby, Teamie, Oceans Inc, and Squiryl. Startups doing Alpha Pitches are Burpple and MyManisku. Read more