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The South East Asia & India Loyalty Association has launched as a regional industry body for loyalty professionals across South East Asia and India.
The association aims to bring together brands, loyalty specialists and technology partners involved in customer engagement and customer insight across the two markets. It sits within Loyalty Group APAC alongside the Australian Loyalty Association and the New Zealand Loyalty Association.
The launch comes as companies across retail, grocery, financial services, travel, hospitality, telecommunications and digital commerce place greater focus on loyalty programmes. Businesses are using these schemes to retain customers and encourage repeat spending as consumers demand more tailored and consistent interactions.
Market data cited by the association points to rapid growth in the sector. Research and Markets found the Asia-Pacific loyalty market grew at a compound annual growth rate of 17.2% from 2021 to 2025 and is forecast to grow at 13.1% from 2026 to 2030, reaching about USD $141.8 billion, up from USD $75.1 billion in 2025.
Sarah Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of SILA, outlined the rationale for creating the organisation.
"South East Asia and India are among the world's most exciting regions for loyalty innovation. Organisations are investing heavily in AI, personalisation and customer engagement, yet there has been no industry body dedicated to bringing loyalty professionals together. Our vision is to create a collaborative community that connects industry leaders, shares global best practice and helps organisations build stronger, more meaningful customer relationships," Richardson said.
Board members
SILA has launched with an advisory board drawn from travel, hospitality, retail, payments and loyalty technology. Members include Emilie Couton, Chief Executive Officer of Accor Plus; Emily Ong, Director, Loyalty & CRM at Far East Hospitality; Henry Christian, Head of Loyalty, Marketing & Partnerships at Metro Singapore; and Chen Peng, Chief Executive Officer of Minden.ai.
Other members are Melinda Zhang, Vice President, Consumer Acquisition & Engagement at Mastercard Singapore; Aaron Crowe, Head of Revenue APAC at Eagle Eye; Laurent Billieres, VP APAC at Talon.One; Brendan Murphy, GM at Zeta; and Mark Ross-Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Loyalty Status Co.
The board reflects how loyalty has expanded beyond traditional points-based schemes into broader customer data, payments, travel and digital commerce strategies. Many companies in the region now treat loyalty as a commercial discipline tied to customer retention and cross-selling, rather than a marketing add-on.
Industry activity
The association will focus on industry events, professional education and research. Its current education offering includes masterclasses in loyalty economics, artificial intelligence and behavioural science, areas many companies are using to refine reward structures and customer targeting.
It also plans to produce research and benchmarking on programme performance and consumer expectations in the region. One goal is to give members access to comparative data across Asian markets, where loyalty adoption and customer behaviour vary widely by sector and country.
The launch follows increased activity in the wider Asia-Pacific loyalty sector. Loyalty Group APAC said the most recent Asia Pacific Loyalty Conference drew 474 delegates, with an attendance rate of 98% and an average speaker session rating of 4.8 out of 5.
That level of attendance suggests sustained corporate interest in a market where mobile adoption, digital wallets and data-driven marketing are reshaping how brands interact with customers. In South East Asia and India, where large populations of mobile-first consumers move across online and offline channels, loyalty operators are under pressure to make programmes simpler to use and easier to personalise.
Awards focus
SILA will also support participation in the Asia Pacific Loyalty Awards, which recognise work in loyalty strategy, customer experience, technology, partnerships, AI, programme design and commercial outcomes. Recent finalists from South East Asia and the wider region included Treasured by Metro from Metro Singapore Department Stores, Ascott Star Rewards from The Ascott Limited, ALL - Accor Live Limitless from Accor, Beyond Business from Qatar Airways, Emirates Skywards from Emirates and Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition from Mastercard.
The presence of travel, retail and financial services brands among those finalists underlines the breadth of sectors now competing on loyalty design. It also highlights how major regional and international operators are using rewards, partnerships and data to differentiate themselves in crowded consumer markets.