Guide

What a digital loyalty card is and how it works in a local business

In short: a digital loyalty card is the phone version of the stamp or points card. The customer saves it in their phone's wallet (Google Wallet on Android) or opens it in the browser, the business adds stamps by scanning a code and, on reaching the goal, the customer gets a reward. No app download needed.

Club Card Team · Updated October 22, 2026 · 5 min read

Club Card's card, counter app, dashboard and signup are in Spanish only.

In this guide you'll find the definition, the types that exist, how it works at the register, how it differs from a paper card and from a custom app, and what a business needs to get started.

Definition

A digital loyalty card is a record, tied to each customer, of the purchases or visits that bring them closer to a reward. It shows up as a card on the phone and is identified by a QR code or barcode that the business scans.

It has three parts:

The rule. For example, one stamp per visit and a free coffee after 8 stamps.
The customer's card. It lives in Google Wallet, in Apple Wallet or on a web page, depending on the platform.
The business dashboard. Where you see who joined, how often they came and who stopped coming.

Google calls this type of pass a *Loyalty card* and describes it as a card that shows the points balance or member status and is updated from the business's system (Google for Developers). Apple groups it under *store cards* (Apple Developer).

Types of digital loyalty card

Type	How the customer earns	Example	Who it fits
Stamps	One stamp per visit or per product	8 coffees, the ninth is free	Coffee shops, bakeries, ice cream shops
Points	Points based on the amount spent	1 point for every 10 pesos	Very different ticket sizes
Tiers	Perks by category	Silver and gold members	Chains with high visit frequency
Cashback	A percentage comes back as credit	5% toward the next purchase	Stores with an integrated POS

For a counter business with similar ticket sizes from visit to visit, the stamp card is the easiest to explain. It fits in one sentence and the customer sees how far they have to go. The digital stamp card guide compares the costs of each format.

How it works at the counter

The typical flow has four steps:

The customer scans the QR on the sign at the register.
They sign up with their Google account or email, in under a minute if they have their details handy.
They save the card in Google Wallet or leave it open in the browser.
On each visit they show their code and the staff scans it with the shop's phone or tablet.

When the card is in Google Wallet, the pass updates itself with every stamp. Google also allows phone notifications when the pass changes, with a daily message limit (Google for Developers).

How it differs from a paper card

	Paper	Digital
Startup cost	Printing and a stamp	Monthly subscription
Gets lost	Often	Lives on the phone
Fraud	Copied stamps	Every stamp is logged with a date
Data	You only see redeemed cards	You see who comes back and who stopped coming
Contact with the customer	None	Email or WhatsApp, if the customer agreed to receive messages

The last difference matters most. With paper you don't know who your customer is. With a digital card you have a member list and can invite back the ones who haven't come in for weeks, as long as they gave consent.

How it differs from a custom app

A custom app in the Apple and Google stores gives you more control, but the customer has to search for it, download it and open it. For a coffee shop or a bakery, that step usually stalls signups at the register. A Wallet pass or a web page skips the download: Apple notes that a pass can be added without installing the business's app (Apple Developer).

Why it works

Two field studies explain the mechanism. Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng found that members of a coffee card bought more often as they got closer to the reward (Journal of Marketing Research, 2006). Nunes and Drèze saw that a card with free stamps at the start was completed more often and faster (Journal of Consumer Research, 2006).

Keeping customers also matters for the business. Harvard Business Review points out that acquiring a new customer costs between 5 and 25 times more than keeping one (HBR, 2014).

What a business needs to start

A phone or tablet with a camera and internet at the counter.
A sign with the QR next to the register.
A short rule: how many stamps and what reward.
A set line for the staff at every checkout.

If your customers use Android, Google Wallet has to be available in your country. Google publishes the list in its Wallet help.

How Club Card handles it

Club Card is a branded digital stamp card for coffee shops, bakeries and counter businesses in Mexico and Argentina. The customer scans the QR, joins with Google or email and collects one stamp per visit. On Android they save it to Google Wallet, which updates itself; on iPhone it works in the browser; it is not saved to Apple Wallet yet. The owner sees in the dashboard who comes back and who stopped coming, and the Club Card team sets up the club for them. It's in Spanish. Details are in how it works and pricing.

Frequently asked questions

What is a digital loyalty card?

It's the stamp or points card on your phone. The customer saves it in their phone's wallet or opens it in the browser, and the business adds stamps by scanning their code.

Does the customer have to download an app?

No, if the card is a Wallet pass or a web page. It's saved from a link or a QR.

Does it work on iPhone?

It depends on the platform. With Club Card, on iPhone it works in the browser with its code; it is not saved to Apple Wallet yet.

What's the difference between a loyalty card and a loyalty program?

The loyalty program is the rule and the strategy (what you reward and how). The card is the tool the customer uses to collect and show their progress.

Sources

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