Information technology corporation FPT from Vietnam together with Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to invest $3 million in Utop, a Vietnamese blockchain startup that specializes in bridging the different loyalty programs from various merchants.

Utop operates on top of FPT’s enterprise blockchain platform, called akaChain. News portal Viet Nam News reported (Apr 19) that Utop is used in many countries and sectors such as finance, insurance, retail, and supply chain. It allows users to earn and redeem loyalty points from various retailers within the same network. This improves the customer experience while allowing small businesses to grow faster at the same time. Utop also claims to help these businesses keep their costs down while maintaining data security.

FPT Chairman Trương Gia Bình likened the rapid maturation of the technology industry, especially since the emergence of the Industry 4.0 trend in manufacturing technologies, to growing innovative business models.

“We call it digital transformation,” he asserted.

“Utop will play its part in growing thousands of Vietnamese businesses, bringing conveniences and interesting shopping experiences for millions of Vietnamese consumers, thereby contributing to the development of Việt Nam’s digital economy,” he added.

SBI Holdings and SBI Group have been making many investments in the blockchain space of late, notes The Crypto Sight. Most recently this month, SBI Holdings invested in cryptocurrency startup FXCoin to bolster cryptocurrency exchange business in Japan.