Create Apple Wallet stamp card – no app needed on iPhone
Every week without a digital stamp card, a customer forgets their paper card – and comes back less often. You change that in 5 minutes.
A stamp card in Apple Wallet brings your shop permanently onto your customers' iPhones – right next to boarding passes and tickets from major chains. Your customers don't need an app. You don't need a developer. Here's how the card gets on the iPhone, how stamps arrive, and what you need to do.
What Apple Wallet is and why it matters
Apple Wallet comes pre-installed on every iPhone. It holds cards, tickets, and payment methods. Most iPhone users open Wallet regularly – to pay or for tickets.
Your stamp card sits right there alongside them. No app download. No account. No password.
The card itself is called a Wallet Pass. For the technical details, see What is a Wallet Pass?. For you, it's enough to know: it's a card in the phone that updates itself automatically.
How your stamp card gets on the iPhone
Your customer needs three steps – under 1 minute:
- Scan the QR code. Open the camera, point it at the code at your checkout. iOS automatically shows a link.
- A short page in your design. Logo and colors are yours. The customer optionally enters their first name and birthday. A checkbox decides whether they want to receive offers.
- Tap "Add to Apple Wallet". One tap on the black button – the card is in Wallet.
From now on, the card stays on the iPhone. It doesn't close like an app.
What the card can do in Wallet
A stamp card in Apple Wallet is more than a photo of your paper card. It reacts to what happens in your shop.
- Stamps in real time. Your team scans the card, the stamp appears instantly in Wallet.
- Reward visible. Card full? It shows it. You redeem the reward in the dashboard, the card starts at zero.
- Message on the lock screen. An offer like "Today only: 2 for 1" appears as a push notification – right where the customer looks first. Why this works so well: Lock screen marketing.
- Reminder when nearby. With geofencing (location detection), the card notifies the customer when they're close by. Available from Growth plan onwards.
- Your design. Logo, colors, stamp symbols are yours. In every plan. Only the small "Powered by stampa" notice disappears from Starter plan up.
What you need as a shop
Creating Apple Wallet cards normally requires an Apple developer account, certificates, and a server. That's why small shops haven't done this before.
With stampa, all that's already there. Your list is short:
| You need | You don't need |
|---|---|
| stampa account (free up to 100 customers) | Apple developer account |
| Logo and colors (taken from your website) | Certificates or server |
| Printed display stand with QR code | App in the App Store |
| Smartphone on your team to scan | Card reader |
| 5 minutes for setup | Your own privacy policy |
The privacy policy for your loyalty program is created and hosted automatically. It's editable and GDPR-compliant. The marketing consent is a separate checkbox – off by default.
Setup in 5 minutes
Here's how you set up the card:
- Register without a credit card. Choose your industry from 143 templates. The template comes with stamp count, reward, and matching symbols.
- Enter your website address. Logo and colors are taken automatically. Without a website, you upload the logo.
- Set stamp count and reward. For example: 10 stamps, then a free coffee.
- Download and print the display stand. It's created print-ready with QR code.
- Open the scanner on your team's phone. Once. After that, stamping means: scan the card.
- Test it yourself. Scan the QR code with your iPhone, add the card, give yourself the first stamp. Do you see it on the card? You're ready to go.
How it works in practice
A barber creates a card with 5 stamps. Reward: €10 off the sixth haircut. A customer comes every five weeks, the card is full after half a year.
What changes: The customer has the card on their iPhone at the sixth visit. After eight weeks without a visit, they get a short reminder on the lock screen (if they've opted in). The salon sees in the dashboard how many customers are currently collecting and how many come back after the discount.
What happens if you do nothing
Without a digital stamp card, some of your customers forget their paper card at home. They stop collecting. You lose regular customers without realizing it.
With Apple Wallet, the card is always on the iPhone. No forgetting. No losing. No "I don't have it with me."
Frequently asked questions
What if the customer deletes the card? They scan the QR code again. The card is added back.
Do customers see all messages? Only customers with the marketing checkbox active get offers. Stamp updates everyone sees on their card.
Do I have to treat Apple and Android customers differently? No. The same QR code delivers the Apple Wallet card on iPhone and the Google Wallet card on Android. Details: Stamp card in Google Wallet.
Can I change the design later? Yes. Changes to logo, colors, and reward appear on existing cards. You don't have to reissue them.
Conclusion
A stamp card in Apple Wallet brings your shop permanently onto iPhones – no app, no developer, no hardware. The customer scans, taps once, the card lives in Wallet: with stamps in real time, messages on the lock screen, your design.
Next step: If you want to see what your card looks like on the iPhone, you can start stampa for free – up to 100 active customers, no credit card required.