A digital loyalty card is the stamp card your customers already know, kept in their phone instead of their wallet. The customer scans a QR code at the counter, adds the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and your team adds a stamp by scanning it with an ordinary phone.
For a café, a bakery or a hair salon, that means “every tenth coffee free” keeps working as before, just without cards left at home, put through the washing machine or filled in with a borrowed pen. This guide covers how it works day to day, what it costs, what data protection asks of you and how to launch.
What is a digital loyalty card, exactly?
The stamp card is a familiar habit: ten boxes on the coffee card, one stamp per visit at the hairdresser, a free pastry after a few trips to the bakery. The idea is simple and customers understand it immediately. A digital card keeps that simplicity and changes just one thing: where the card lives.
It is a wallet pass, the same kind of card as a boarding pass or a cinema ticket on your phone. It shows your name, your logo, how many stamps the customer has and the reward. When the customer gets a stamp, the card updates on their phone within seconds. When it is full, the reward appears on the card and the customer gets a notification on the lock screen.
One important difference from a customer club built on its own app: the customer does not download anything, create an account or remember a password. The wallet is already on the phone.
How does it work for customers and staff?
The easiest way to understand it is to follow a first visit, step by step.
For the customer
- The customer sees a small stand with a QR code next to the till.
- They scan the code with their phone camera.
- A short form opens: first name and e-mail address, with one optional tick box to hear your news.
- They tap “Add to Apple Wallet” or “Add to Google Wallet”; the phone shows the right button.
- The card is now on their phone.
The whole thing takes about as long as waiting for a coffee. Customers who do not use a wallet get a web card with a QR code that works the same way.
For staff
- The customer pays as usual, by Bancontact, Payconiq or cash.
- They show the card on their phone.
- Staff scan it with a phone that has the scanner open, and a big “+1” confirms the stamp.
- When the card is full, staff mark the reward as claimed and a new card starts.
Payment and loyalty are two separate actions. Your payment terminal, your till and your bank are not involved: there is nothing to connect and no special hardware to buy. See also loyalty and Bancontact and the staff scanner.
Paper card, own app or wallet card: which fits best?
There are basically three ways to run a loyalty card. Here is how they compare for a small business.
| Paper card | Own app | Wallet card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the customer has to do | Take a card and keep it | Download an app and sign up | Scan a QR code and add the card |
| Left at home | Often | Rarely | Rarely, the phone is always there |
| You know who the customer is | No | Yes | Yes, first name and e-mail |
| You can reach them again | No | Yes, through the app | Lock-screen notifications and e-mail |
| Start-up cost | Printing cards | High, development and upkeep | Monthly subscription |
The paper card is cheap and everyone gets one, but you never learn who your regulars are and cannot contact them. An own app gives a lot of control, but for most businesses, asking people to download an app for a free coffee is too big a step. The wallet card sits in between: as easy as paper for the customer, with the follow-up options of an app. For more detail, see Fidelia vs paper card and our article on replacing a paper card with a wallet card.
Which card type should you choose?
The stamp card is the classic, and it suits most businesses that sell roughly the same thing at roughly the same price: coffee, bread, lunch, a haircut. One stamp per purchase, one reward when the card is full.
If the value of your purchases varies a lot, as in a florist, points or cashback may be fairer: they reward how much a customer spends rather than how often they come. The pros and cons are in stamps vs points vs cashback.
A few rules of thumb:
- Café, bakery, snack: stamp card, 8 to 10 stamps.
- Hairdresser and beauty: stamp card with fewer stamps, say 5 or 6, because visits are further apart.
- Florist and boutique: points or cashback, because amounts vary.
The reward costs far less than it looks, because you count your own purchase cost, not the price at the till. Work it out with your own figures in the article on the real cost of a reward.
What does a digital loyalty card cost?
Most digital loyalty cards are sold as a monthly subscription. The differences lie in what is included: number of customers, number of cards, notifications, e-mails and whether there are fees per customer.
With Fidelia, Essential costs €29 a month, excluding VAT, with the card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, the scanner in the team’s phone and the first QR stand included. Pro costs €59 a month, excluding VAT, and adds messages to customers who agreed to receive them, nearby reminders and the option of having several cards. You try it free for 14 days before you pay.
To compare costs and see which ones people often forget, read what a digital loyalty card costs in Belgium, and see the current prices.
How do you launch in a week?
A launch does not need to be complicated. Roughly: use the start of the week to choose the reward and the stamp rule, then create the card with your logo and colours. After that, put the QR stand where customers wait, show the team the scanner in a few minutes, and tell customers about the card out loud from the first week.
That last point matters most: a stand at the till works, but a question from staff (“Would you like our card on your phone?”) works even better. The day-by-day plan is in launch a loyalty program in a week, and for where to put the stand, see where to put the QR code in store.
What do you need to know about data protection?
In short: the card needs a first name and an e-mail address to work, and you collect only what is necessary. For promotional messages, provide a separate, free and optional consent, and make unsubscribing simple. Tell customers what you store and why when the card is created, and know that you are the controller while the card provider is your processor.
How to handle this in a small business is covered in loyalty card and GDPR. The Data Protection Authority (APD/GBA) also publishes information for businesses. This text is general information, not legal advice.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
Too many stamps. A card with 15 or 20 stamps for one coffee feels endless. The reward should feel within reach after a few visits.
A reward nobody wants. “10 percent off your next purchase” is harder to get excited about than a coffee or a pastry. Concrete things are easier to look forward to.
Hiding the QR stand. Behind the till or among the leaflets, nobody sees it. Put it at eye level where customers wait.
Forgetting your staff. If the person at the till does not know how it works, nobody will offer it to customers. Show the scanner in five minutes and let everyone try it.
Sending too many messages. Reaching a customer on their lock screen is valuable only when used sparingly. One message about something genuinely new beats one every week.
Collecting more than you need. First name and e-mail are enough for a loyalty card. More fields make the form longer and give you more responsibility.
In short
A digital loyalty card is the stamp card in a new form: just as easy for the customer, without lost cards, and with a way to know who your regulars are. It needs no app, no new till and no link to Bancontact or your terminal. Start with a reward you can afford, a sensible number of stamps and a visible QR stand, and offer the card to every customer from the first week.