In the face of growingly intense market competition, companies began to sell gift cards or vouchers decades ago to maintain steady growth.
This approach allows them to get paid in advance while encouraging consumer spending. Today almost every consumer has a mobile device so electronic vouchers or tickets are replacing the printed version to become the mainstream.
Especially when COVID-19 gave rise to zero-contact shopping, e-vouchers became something that consumers preferred. Seeing that e-vouchers might be susceptible to cybercrime, more and more vendors now integrate blockchain with e-voucher systems and expand their business footprint into the global market.
Two groups of vendors combine blockchain with e-vouchers. The first group comprises blockchain startups. They generally don't know the industry well enough to win the favor of international sales channel operators. The second group comprises the original distributors of printed vouchers.
They generally work with ICT solution providers but they may not be technically proficient enough to communicate with their ICT partners. 3T GDS is among the very few vendors that have the experience and technical caliber to integrate blockchain with e-vouchers. It was recognized and funded by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program in 2022.
According to 3T GDS CEO Eric Ko, blockchain enables traceability, immutability, and irreversibility. It has been widely used across a diversity of fields. Blockchain integrated with e-voucher systems prevents fraudulent use of e-vouchers and protects consumers and businesses.
The security feature will undoubtedly attract partnership opportunities. Safeguarding e-vouchers with blockchain will also help companies expand their footprint globally as overseas consumers can rest assured that their purchase and use of the e-vouchers are protected against cybercrime. This is what distinguishes 3T GDS from the other e-voucher platform vendors.
3T GDS offers more than 5,000 electronic commodities with its global network of 15 channel partners
As consumers increasingly opting for e-vouchers gives rise to the rapid growth of the e-voucher market, 3T GSD, a startup founded in 2020, endeavors to realize borderless living with digital assets and tourism banking solutions. Leveraging the popular blockchain technology on top of the team's 20 years of experience, 3T GDS brought together cross-border service providers and formed a big league of international e-voucher suppliers.
3T GDS's team of seasoned experts has built a global e-voucher purchase and sales platform providing travel commodity trust and reservation services, aiming to deliver higher quality service and stronger guarantees for every aspect of the travel experience. The company currently operates the 3TEZ online ticket point-of-sale platform, the 3TET e-voucher shopping site, the 3T GDS global distribution system, and the 3T GDS CRM distribution management platform. In collaborations with Trip.com, Ctrip.com, Alibaba, ezTravel, and a slew of other internationally known channels, 3T GDS helps them accelerate the distribution and preservation of electronic tickets or vouchers.
According to Ko, not only does 3T GDS enable cross-border merchants to manage their inventory on all international channels, but it also helps them digitize their commodities or services and make them available on all international channels. It consolidates all the orders from the international channels and provides them to the merchant so that the merchant does not have to worry about exchange rates and cross-border payment clearing issues. 3T GDS is currently in partnership with more than 35 channel operators, marketing over 8,000 commodities in Taiwan and over 5,000 commodities abroad.
Successfully foraying into Singapore, 3T GDS signed an agreement with a prestigious banking group
Despite the widespread popularity of e-vouchers around the world, only Taiwan and Japan have a complete system to regulate e-voucher execution to protect consumers from fraudulent bankruptcy. 3T GDS learns from the system and has signed an agreement to work with a Singaporean banking group to provide escrow services for e-vouchers, creating a multi-win situation for merchants, consumers, platform operators, and financial institutions.
Ko noted that without laws and regulations in place, there have been incidents in Singapore where e-voucher sellers went out of business maliciously and consumers demanded financial institutions for refunds. In view of this, when expanding into Singapore, 3T GDS signed escrow agreements with financial institutions and merchants to safeguard against such incidents. The Singaporean banking group therefore quickly agreed to the partnership with 3T GDS.
Thanks to the assistance from Foodland Ventures, based in TTA, 3T GDS was able to add many partners in the food service sector, helping them issue e-vouchers and unlock new revenue streams. Going forward, 3T GDS plans to work with TTA and Foodland Ventures to keep expanding OTA, EC, social media, and payment channels in different countries as part of its efforts to build a solid foundation for long-term growth.
