Apple Wallet and Google Wallet loyalty cards: a guide for Australian businesses

Published 27 September 2026 · Updated 28 September 2026 · Reviewed quarterly

To put your loyalty card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, use a loyalty platform that makes wallet passes, print its QR code and let customers scan it at your counter. The card lands in their wallet in about 20 seconds, with no app to download. On Rewardtree this is free, and setup takes about 5 minutes.

The steps#

1. Pick a platform that makes Apple and Google passes. A wallet card has to be made and signed by a platform that is set up with Apple and Google. Rewardtree does that part for you, so you don't need a developer or a developer account of your own.
2. Add your logo, colours and reward. In the setup, choose a stamp card or points, name your reward (for example, Free coffee), set how many stamps unlock it, and add your logo and brand colour. The preview shows how the card will look on an iPhone and on an Android phone.
3. Print the counter QR from your Share page. The Share page in your dashboard has a counter kit to print (a tent card, an A5 countertop card, stickers and a staff cheat-sheet), QR posters, and your join link for your Instagram bio or Google Business Profile.
4. The customer scans, confirms their mobile and adds the card. They point their phone camera at the QR, type their first name and mobile, enter the code we text them, and tap Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet.
5. Staff scan the card to add a stamp. Staff scan the QR on the customer's card with the free Rewardtree Merchant app and tap Add stamp. The card on the customer's phone updates to show the new stamp.
6. Confirm the reward with a one-time code. When the card is full, staff scan it and tap Redeem. Rewardtree's server confirms the reward once and shows staff the customer's first name, then the card starts counting again.

What a wallet loyalty card is#

Apple Wallet comes on every iPhone. Google Wallet is the same idea on Android phones, including Samsung. People already use them for boarding passes, concert tickets and bank cards. A wallet loyalty card is your stamp card saved in the same place.

It shows your logo, the customer's progress and your reward, and it carries a QR code your staff scan at the counter. Nothing to install, no password, and it can't be left at home, because it's on the phone they carry everywhere. For you: no paper cards to print, lose or copy, and a list of who your regulars actually are.

One QR for iPhone and Android#

You print one QR code. It opens your join page, and that page works on any phone. Here's what your customer does:

1. Points their phone camera at the QR on your counter, or taps your link on Instagram or Google.
2. Types their first name and mobile number. Email is optional.
3. Chooses whether they want offers from you. The box stays unticked unless they tick it, and the page says plainly that their details go to you.
4. Enters the 6-digit code we text them, to confirm the number.
5. Taps Add to Apple Wallet on an iPhone, or Add to Google Wallet on Samsung and other Android phones.

That's about 20 seconds. The code comes by text, so customers join with a mobile number, not a landline. The join page works in eight languages, including Arabic, Vietnamese and Simplified Chinese, and picks up the language the phone is set to. Someone with neither wallet can still open their card in their phone's web browser.

What the card shows#

• Your brand first: your business name, logo and brand colour. Ours is a small "Powered by Rewardtree" line on the back.
• Their progress: a row of stamps in the shape you pick (circle, leaf, coffee, heart, star, scissors or fork), or a points balance.
• The reward: what it is and how many stamps or points unlock it.
• A QR code for your staff to scan.
• The back of the card: a short note, up to four links (your booking page, menu or Instagram) and your contact details.

Updates are free and unlimited#

Every time staff add a stamp, the card on the customer's phone changes to show the new count. When the card is full, it shows the reward is ready. After the reward, it starts again, and any extra stamps carry over.

If you change your reward, your logo or your colours later, the change goes out to every card already sitting in customers' wallets. Nobody needs to join again, and everyone keeps the stamps they've earned.

On Rewardtree these card updates are free and unlimited, on every plan. There's no charge per update and no cap on how many members you have.

There's one more free extra on iPhone. When a member is near your shop, their iPhone can show your card on the lock screen with a short line you write once in Settings, like "Your next coffee is closer than you think".

How rewards stay honest#

A card that updates itself is only useful if the stamps on it are real. This is how Rewardtree keeps them real without making staff play police:

• Staff add the stamps. A stamp goes on when staff scan the customer's card with the free Rewardtree Merchant app (App Store and Google Play).
• One collect per visit. By default a customer can collect once every 4 hours at your business, so a card can't be stamped twice by mistake. You can change the wait in Settings, under Hours between visits.
• Location and opening hours. Each scan is checked against where your shop is and when it's open. Anything unusual still counts and is listed under Fraud alerts for you to look at, so a customer is never turned away because a phone got its location a little wrong. Only a scan more than 5 km from the shop, or more than 2 hours outside opening hours, is always refused.
• Rewards are confirmed once. Every reward is confirmed by Rewardtree's server with a one-time code, and staff see the customer's first name before handing it over. Usually staff just scan the card and tap Redeem. If a customer reads out a 6-digit code instead, that code works once and expires after 60 seconds. Once a reward is used the card moves back down, so a screenshot can't claim the same reward twice.
• Bad internet is fine. The Merchant app keeps adding stamps if the internet drops, catches up when it's back, and never counts a stamp twice. Handing out a reward needs a connection.

What it costs#

On Rewardtree, wallet loyalty cards cost A$0, forever. That includes unlimited members, locations and staff, the Merchant app, the printable counter kit, and every card update. You don't need an Apple developer account or a Google Wallet account: Rewardtree makes and signs the cards for you.

The paid plan, Growth, is A$29/month + GST. It's for when you want to send your members messages yourself: one-off offers, come-back messages you switch on, AI-written message ideas, member groups, and a report of the sales those messages won back. You don't need it to run a wallet loyalty card. The full list is on the pricing page, and the loyalty cost calculator shows what you'd save if you're paying for a loyalty app now.

Weighing up other loyalty apps? The comparisons go through them one by one.

Mistakes to avoid#

1. Making people download an app. Few customers will install an app for a shop they visit once a week, and asking at a busy counter costs you sign-ups. A wallet card needs nothing installed.
2. Putting the reward too far away. If a regular needs half a year to reach it, the card stops pulling them back. A good rule of thumb: a daily or weekly regular should reach the reward within weeks, and a monthly client within 6 to 9 months.
3. Hiding the QR. Put it where people stand and wait with their phone in hand: by the till, on the coffee machine, at reception.
4. Not telling staff. One sentence covers it: "Scan their card, tap once." The counter kit includes a staff cheat-sheet.

Going live#

Setting up takes about 5 minutes: claim your free link, make the setup's three choices (stamps or points, the reward, your colours), print the counter kit, put the QR by the till, and install the free Rewardtree Merchant app on your counter phone. You need it to scan cards; your customers never need an app. For the whole plan, including the Australian privacy basics, read how to set up a loyalty program in Australia. Running a café? The café guide covers the classic buy-9-get-the-10th-free card.

Questions, answered#