The LQID card aims to become the first non-cryptocurrency for payment in the metaverse. It will also double as a loyalty program and promotional tool. Here’s how it works.
Liquid Avatar Technologies – a fintech and blockchain company – has created the world’s first payment card designed specifically for the metaverse. The LQID card also doubles as a loyalty program, enabling customers to earn rewards on purchases of virtual goods and real estate. With the launch of its new payment card, the company hopes that the “infusion of real-world functionality and familiarity in metaversal development will lead to more widespread adoption of/participation in metaverse experiences” – specifically, experiences in the company’s virtual properties.
The card, which is a physical object, can’t be used across the metaverse as a whole. Users will only be able to garner points while shopping within ‘Liquidshopz’ and the Aftermath Islands Metaverse (AIM), a virtual space owned by the company that’s slated to launch in mid-2022. Despite the fact that it can only be used within a small portion of the metaverse, the LQID card is the first payment system to connect the virtual and physical worlds.
It also represents an effort from Liquid Avatar to differentiate its slice of the metaverse from those of other brands by attaching it to a new kind of experience – paying for goods and real estate using a physical payment card. “We’re excited to offer the very first payment card for the metaverse, which will truly set Aftermath Islands apart,” said David Lucatch, chief executive officer of Liquid Avatar. “In addition to the exciting new Virtual Land and non-fungible token (NFT) opportunities, these features and functions will go a long way in making Aftermath Islands the metaverse experience people will want to come back to again and again.”
For the uninitiated, the metaverse can be defined in a number of ways. Some people describe it as a single, all-encompassing virtual realm akin to the physical universe that we inhabit. Others speak of a plurality of metaverses, virtual spaces that exist alongside one another but should nonetheless be regarded as separate – analogous to the multiverse theory. When a company claims to be building its own metaverse, as Liquid Avatar is doing with its AIM, it’s not claiming to be the sole owner of the entire metaverse. The situation is a bit different with Meta, which does seem to be positioning itself at the pinnacle of the metaverse hierarchy.
Cryptocurrency is typically the only form of legal tender accepted in the metaverse. The LQID card is deviating from that norm by enabling customers to buy virtual goods and real estate using currency that is not blockchain-based.
Liquid Avatar hopes that the new card’s built-in loyalty rewards program will drive consumer engagement and retention. “The ability to accept traditional forms of payment – especially with a loyalty scheme attached – lowers barriers to entry and will set Aftermath Islands apart from other metaverse experiences that only accept cryptocurrency,” the company claims. Loyalty points accrued on the card can be used toward future purchases in the AIM.
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