Unique codes powering the Sun Saver loyalty programme.

The brief

Sun Saver is one of the UK’s largest publisher-run loyalty programmes, rewarding readers for their engagement with The Sun. The programme requires a high-volume, high-frequency, fraud-resistant code system that integrates cleanly with News UK’s consumer-facing apps and websites.

The codes need to be unique, single-use, audited end-to-end, and resilient against the kinds of bot-driven and account-farming behaviour any large-scale loyalty programme attracts.

The mechanic

Hive IP generates the unique codes algorithmically using its proprietary multi-cipher algorithm. The codes are supplied in the format News UK requires for distribution to readers via the publication. When a reader enters a code in the Sun Saver app or website, the code is sent to Hive IP’s validation API, which returns the validity, any fraud flags, and the meta-data needed for the consumer-facing experience.

The system handles the full lifecycle: code generation, distribution, validation, fraud monitoring, audit trail, and customer support

Hive IP’s role

• Algorithmic code generation, with the security architecture that makes a database breach of issued codes structurally impossible.
• Cloud validation via Hive IP’s API, integrated by News UK’s digital team.
• Fraud monitoring with configurable thresholds tuned to the loyalty mechanic.

The results

• End-to-end loyalty mechanic. Sun Saver runs on Hive IP’s codes, with no exposure to the systemic database-leak risk that would otherwise put a high-profile loyalty programme at risk.
• Operational scale. Billions of codes generated and validated, with the audit trail to support the consumer-support team in resolving any issue a reader raises.
• Fraud resilience. Risk-scoring and behavioural pattern detection keep the programme statistics meaningful and reduce the noise of bot-driven entries.

Related

• PepsiCo
• Loyalty applications
• Cloud validation & fraud monitoring