You’ve got a drawer full of paper stamp cards, half of them with 8 stamps and no owner. You want them gone. So you ask around, and the answer you hear most is “use an Apple Wallet stamp card, customers won’t download another app.”
That advice is often right. It’s also incomplete. A wallet card and a branded loyalty app do different jobs, cost different amounts and reach your customers in different ways. This guide compares them fairly, with real prices from the providers’ own pages, so you can pick the one that fits how your shop actually trades.
Want to see what a branded loyalty app looks like for your shop? AppBuild lets you build your own stamp card app free for up to 10 users, with unlimited push notifications on every plan. Build your loyalty card app free
What’s the difference between a wallet stamp card and a loyalty app?
A wallet stamp card is a pass that lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. The customer scans a QR code at your counter, taps “add”, and the card sits next to their bank cards and boarding passes. Staff stamp it by scanning it. Tools like Loopy Loyalty and Perkstar work this way.
A loyalty app is a full app with your name and logo on it. The stamp card is one screen inside it. The same app can carry your menu, take orders for collection, show offers and send push notifications to everyone who has it installed.
There’s a middle group too. Stamp Me uses its own shared app that customers download to join your card. Its help centre says customers can save their member code to Apple or Google Wallet, but the full loyalty experience stays inside the Stamp Me app. And Square Loyalty runs through your Square till, with customers typically earning against their phone number at checkout.
When is a wallet card the better choice?
If all you want is “buy 9 coffees, get the 10th free” and nothing else, a wallet card is hard to beat on sign-up friction. There’s no store page, no account, no password. A customer goes from QR code to saved card in a few seconds.
That matters most for impulse and passing trade. Think an ice cream kiosk on a seafront, a market stall, or a bakery near a train station. Lots of one-off customers, small spend per visit, and a cone melting in every hand. Installing an app is the last thing on anyone’s mind.
Wallet cards also suit you if you’ll never send a message. Some owners just want the paper cards gone and the stamping done right. A wallet tool does that well and cheaply.
When does your own app pay off?
The app earns its keep when loyalty is one part of a bigger relationship. Here’s where it pulls ahead:
Order-ahead. A wallet pass can’t take an order. A coffee shop app can let regulars order, pick a time slot and walk straight to the pickup point. AppBuild’s coffee shop app sends those orders to any WiFi printer or a tablet kitchen display, and has a “My Usual” 2-tap reorder for regulars.
Menus and updates. Your app can hold a live menu you edit from a dashboard. New autumn drink? It’s in the app the moment you save it.
Messaging on your terms. You decide what to say and when, without a platform cap on how often (more on the wallet limits below). Use it sparingly, though. People mute apps that shout.
Your brand on their home screen. A wallet card is one pass among many. An app icon with your logo is a daily reminder you exist. And your customer list sits in your own app, exportable whenever you want it.
The honest trade-off: someone has to install it. You’ll sign up fewer of your one-off visitors than a wallet card would. The bet is that your regulars, the ones who come in 3 times a week, are worth more to you with order-ahead and offers than a long list of people who stamped once in July.
How do notifications compare?
Here’s what the platform docs actually say.
Apple Wallet. A pass can be updated after it’s saved. Your provider’s server pushes a signal to the phone, and the phone fetches the new version of the pass. If a changed field has a “change message” set, iOS shows an alert, for example “You’ve got 7 stamps”. Apple’s docs say you need to provide that message “for the system to show a change notification”. Wallet tools use this mechanism to send what they call push messages. (Apple: updating passes, Apple: changeMessage)
Apple passes can also carry up to 10 locations. When the phone is near one, the system can surface the pass on the lock screen. Note the word “can”. The system decides when that happens, so treat it as a helpful extra you can’t schedule. (Apple: showing a pass on the lock screen)
Google Wallet. Providers can add a message that triggers a push notification, but Google’s docs set a hard limit: “a maximum of 3 messages that trigger a push notification in a 24 hour period”, and Google “may throttle” senders it sees as spamming. (Google: trigger push notifications) Since October 2025 Google also supports location-based lock screen notifications for passes, with up to 10 merchant locations. (Google Wallet release notes)
App push. An app sends notifications through Apple’s and Google’s push services directly, once the customer has allowed them. You write any message, any day, and it can open a specific screen, like today’s special or the order page.
So which reaches more people? Both depend on the customer allowing notifications. Wallet messages tend to work best as card-related nudges (stamp added, reward ready, you’re nearby). App push is better for marketing messages that need a tap-through to something, like “pre-order your Christmas cake here”. Neither one guarantees a read. One thing to know if you go the web app route: on iPhone, a web app can only receive push once the customer adds it to their home screen (WebKit: web push on iOS).
What do they cost?
Prices below come from each provider’s own pricing page, checked October 2026. Some only publish one currency.
| Wallet stamp card (Loopy Loyalty, Perkstar) | Shared loyalty app (Stamp Me) | Till-based (Square Loyalty) | Your own app (AppBuild) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer download needed | No, saved to Apple or Google Wallet | Yes, the Stamp Me app (member code can go in Wallet) | No, earns at the Square checkout | Store app, or a web app opened from a link |
| Sign-up friction | Lowest: scan and add | Medium: download and create an account | Low: phone number at the till | Medium: install or open the web app |
| Notifications | Pass updates and messages. Google caps notifying messages at 3 per 24 hours | Unlimited push on all plans, SMS capped at 3 on Lite | Text messages for points and rewards, plus Square Marketing campaigns | Unlimited push notifications on every plan |
| Order-ahead | No | No | Via Square Online, separately | Yes, with WiFi printer or tablet display |
| Menus and booking | No | No | Through other Square products | Live menus in the app, edited from a dashboard |
| Customer data | Held by the provider, export varies by plan (Loopy lists export on higher tiers) | Member data in the Stamp Me platform | In your Square account | In your own app, exportable |
| Typical monthly cost | Loopy: $25 Starter, $69 Growth. Perkstar: £15 Starter, £30 Growth | £39 or $49 Lite, £49 or $79 Pro | UK: £25 to £65 per location, by loyalty visits. US: not listed on the loyalty page | Free up to 10 users, $49 (1,000 users), $99 (unlimited). Standalone loyalty card $99 a year |
A few details worth checking before you commit. Loopy’s Starter covers 1 card design and 1 location, with a 15-day trial and annual billing at $250. Perkstar’s plans each cover 1 location, with extras at £10 a month. Stamp Me’s trial runs 30 days from when you publish your first card. Square’s UK pricing is per location per calendar month, and a loyalty visit counts when a customer enrols, earns or redeems. Square’s US loyalty page points you to its general plans instead of listing a loyalty price, so ask Square directly.
On AppBuild, annual billing drops Business to $299 a year and Business Pro to $499 a year, with no commission on paid plans. Publishing to the stores needs an Apple Developer account ($99 a year) and a Google Play account ($25 one-off). If loyalty is the only thing you want, the standalone AppBuild loyalty card is a flat $99 a year with unlimited customers, stamps and push notifications. AppBuild doesn’t list Apple or Google Wallet passes, so if a wallet pass specifically is a must-have, one of the wallet tools above is the better fit.
Can you do both?
Yes, and for some shops it’s the smart move. Run a wallet card at the counter for passing trade, and promote your app to regulars with a reason to switch, like order-ahead or a free drink on install. Just watch out for running 2 separate stamp balances, because customers hate losing stamps. Pick one home for stamps and make the other channel about ordering or offers.
Square users have a version of this already: Square Loyalty runs at the till, and Square says customers can add a digital loyalty pass to Apple Wallet. If you’re on Square and happy, there’s no need to rip it out for a stamp card. The question becomes whether you also want your own app for ordering and messaging on top.
Which should you choose?
Choose a wallet card if you mostly serve one-off or seasonal customers, you only need a digital stamp card, and you rarely plan to message anyone. Perkstar and Loopy Loyalty are cheap, quick and good at this.
Choose Square Loyalty if you already take payments on Square and want stamping to happen at checkout with zero staff effort.
Choose your own app if you have a solid base of regulars, you want order-ahead or a live menu, and you want to message customers whenever you’ve got something worth saying. Coffee shops, barbers and bakeries with a strong morning crowd usually land here. The AppBuild loyalty app comparison lays out how it stacks up against Stamp Me, Loopy, Square and others.
FAQ
Do customers really avoid downloading loyalty apps? For one-off visits, often yes. Regulars are different, especially when the app saves them time with order-ahead. Expect fewer sign-ups with an app and more use from the people who do sign up.
Can a wallet stamp card send notifications? Yes, through pass updates and messages. Apple shows an alert when a changed field has a change message. Google limits notifying messages to 3 per pass per 24 hours.
Does AppBuild offer Apple Wallet passes? Its pages don’t list them. AppBuild gives you a branded app on the App Store, Google Play and the web, and staff stamp cards by scanning a customer’s QR code with the free Mobile Data Manager app on any smartphone.
What’s the cheapest way to replace paper stamp cards? AppBuild’s free plan covers up to 10 app users, which is enough to test. For a full customer base, Perkstar starts at £15 a month, Loopy at $25 a month, and AppBuild’s standalone loyalty card is $99 a year.
Do I need special hardware? Usually no. Loopy, Perkstar, Stamp Me and AppBuild all stamp cards with a phone app. Square Loyalty runs on your Square point of sale.
Can I switch later? Yes, but plan the move. Honour existing stamp balances when you switch, and check you can export your customer list first.
Ready to give your regulars something better than a paper card? Build a branded stamp card app with order-ahead, menus and unlimited push notifications. It’s free for your first 10 users. Start your loyalty app free
Last Updated on October 8, 2026 by Ian Naylor
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