• Fast Company, Friday, November 19, 2010 1:34 PM

With Safeway and PepsiCo in tow, Foursquare is launching a pilot program, which, according to Fast Company, "could serve as the future of the company's business model." More remarkable is that the program isn't based on users' geo-locations -- until now Foursquare's bread 'n butter -- or at least not entirely.

It's "based not only on locations but your reasons for being there," Fast Company explains. Brands' existing loyalty programs also factor heavily into Foursquare's new equation. At launch, for instance, the new rewards platform is built on top of Safeway's existing loyalty program, and lets users link their Safeway loyalty accounts to Foursquare, and earn rewards from check-ins. "It is designed to be scalable, which means any other national retailer--perhaps even Walmart--could link its existing loyalty program to Foursquare," Fast Company writes. The new program is also more targeted to users' behavior. For example, morning people might receive more coffee coupons, while night owls might get help with their bar tabs.

Read the whole story at Fast Company »