Digital stamp cards: how they work and how to start one

Published 27 September 2026 · Updated 21 October 2026 · Reviewed quarterly

A digital stamp card is a loyalty card that lives in your customer's phone instead of their pocket. They scan the QR on your counter with their phone camera, the card goes into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and each visit they scan the same QR for a stamp. On Rewardtree it's 60 days free.

The steps#

1. Set the reward and the number of stamps. Name one reward people want, like Free coffee or Free cut, and how many paid visits earn it. For a shop people visit weekly or more often, pay for 9, the 10th free, is a good place to start.
2. Put the QR where the queue waits. Print your free QR poster from your owner page and stand it by the till, where people wait with their phone in hand.
3. Customers scan to join. They scan the QR with their phone camera, type their first name, mobile and the code we text them, and add the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
4. Customers scan to collect. Each visit they scan the same QR for one stamp. Nobody scans the customer's phone, and staff type nothing. The card on their phone updates to show the new stamp.
5. The reward is a live screen. When the card is full, the visit that filled it is paid as normal. On the next visit the customer taps to use the reward and shows staff a live screen with the reward, their first name and a moving clock. Then the card starts again.

How a digital stamp card works, in 3 steps#

1. Your customer joins. They scan the QR on your counter with their phone camera, or open your link, then type their first name and mobile, enter the code we text them, and tap Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet. There's no app to download.
2. They collect a stamp each visit. At the counter, they scan the same QR. One stamp per visit, and the card on their phone updates to show it. Nobody scans their phone, and your staff type nothing.
3. The reward. When the card is full, the visit that filled it is paid as normal. On the next visit their phone asks "Use it now?". At the counter they tap once and show you a live screen with the reward, their first name and a moving clock. You hand it over, and the card starts again.

The counter routine is as quick as paper. The difference is everything around it.

Digital vs paper#

The idea behind a paper stamp card is sound: visit, stamp, reward. The paper is the weak part. Cards go through the wash, get left in another wallet, or turn up with a suspiciously neat row of stamps. You keep paying to reprint them. And a stack of paper cards tells you nothing about who your regulars are.

A digital stamp card fixes each of those:

• It lives in the phone your customer always has on them.
• You print one QR once. It never changes, even when you change your reward.
• Each stamp is one per visit, checked at your shop, so it's much harder to fake than paper.
• You see your customers: their first names, their visits and how close they are to a reward, on your Customers page.

We've set the two side by side in paper punch cards vs a digital loyalty card.

Stopping fake stamps#

You shouldn't have to watch every stamp. Rewardtree checks each one for you:

• One stamp per visit. A visit is 4 hours by default at a café, and a day at a barber or beauty salon (you can change it), so scanning the QR twice in a row gives one stamp.
• Where your shop is. Every stamp is checked against where your shop is. A stamp that looks odd is still given, because phones sometimes get their location a little wrong and a real customer should never be embarrassed at the counter, but it shows as "Needs a look" on your page.
• Your opening hours. If you set them, a stamp collected more than 30 minutes before you open or after you close doesn't count. The customer is told to collect it next visit, and you can still add one by hand. Without set hours, a stamp collected late at night is flagged instead.
• One phone, one person. A phone collects for one customer.
• You see and undo every stamp. Your page lists every stamp and reward, and you can remove any stamp, or give back a reward used by mistake.
• Rewards are a live screen. The customer shows a screen with the reward, their first name and a moving clock. A screenshot doesn't move, and a used reward can't be used again.

Bringing paper regulars across#

Put your Rewardtree QR by the till. Let regulars finish their old card; from today they collect on Rewardtree. A simple line at the counter does it: "Finish that one, and scan this for your next card." Within a few weeks the paper is gone, and you never need to reprint it.

How many stamps?#

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. If the finish line is too far away, the card stops pulling them back.

• Daily or weekly visits (coffee, juice, bread): 7 to 9 paid visits. Buy 9, get the 10th free is the classic.
• Visits a few weeks apart (haircuts, washes, nails): 5 to 9, with a smaller number for higher prices.

Progress that shows early keeps people going. That's the goal-gradient idea: people put in more effort the closer they get to a goal. A shorter card shows progress sooner.

Each kind of shop has its own guide with the reward maths: the café, juice bar and bakery guides for daily and weekly visits, and the barber, hair salon, nail salon and car wash guides for visits a few weeks apart. If your sales vary a lot in size, read stamp card or points first.

Printing a paper version in the meantime#

Not ready to switch today? The free punch card maker designs a printable card in your colours, with no sign-up. It's a fine way to start, and when you're tired of reprinting, the digital card is ready.

What it costs#

On Rewardtree it's 60 days free with no credit card, then A$9.99 a month per shop, or A$99 a year per shop. That's our end-of-year special for businesses that sign up by 31 December 2026: you keep it for every shop, including shops you add later, for as long as you stay. From 1 January 2027, businesses that sign up pay A$19.99 a month or A$199 a year. If you don't add a card, your loyalty card pauses and your customers keep every stamp. See the pricing page for the details, or set up your card: it takes a few minutes.

Questions, answered#