Best digital loyalty card apps for cafés and small shops (2026)
There is no single best loyalty card app – but for your shop, one of these will clearly fit better than the rest.
The best digital loyalty card app for a café or small shop is usually a wallet-based stamp card: the card is saved in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, customers don't install anything, and staff stamp with a phone. Good options are stampa, Loopy Loyalty and Boomerangme. If you already take payments with Square or SumUp, their built-in loyalty is often the better fit, and if you have developers, look at PassKit or Passcreator.
A note on honesty: this comparison is written by stampa. We put ourselves on the list, but for every tool we also say where it beats us. Prices come from each vendor's own website, as of November 2026. Prices change, so check before you sign up. Where we couldn't find a number, the table says "not stated".
Quick comparison: 8 loyalty card apps
| Tool | Customer needs an app? | Free option | Price from (Nov 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| stampa | No (wallet) | Yes, fully free right now | €0 (later from €29/month) | Cafés, salons, small shops without a POS link |
| Loopy Loyalty | No (wallet) | 15-day trial | $25/month (Starter) | Busy single-location shops, unlimited customers |
| Stamp Me | Own app (wallet possible per vendor) | 30-day trial | $49/month (Lite) | Shops that want games and tap-to-stamp hardware |
| Boomerangme | No (wallet) | "Start free" per vendor | not stated | Businesses wanting push, SMS and email in one place |
| Square Loyalty | No (phone number at checkout) | 30-day trial | not stated | Shops already on Square POS |
| SumUp Loyalty | Linked via SumUp Local app | Included with SumUp POS per vendor | not stated | Shops already on SumUp |
| Passcreator | No (wallet) | Free for 5 active passes | not stated | Teams with developers, API use |
| PassKit | No (wallet) | not stated | Platform fee + volume | Larger brands, developers |
stampa: free, wallet-based, set up in the browser
What it is: A digital stamp card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. The customer scans a QR code at the counter and the card is in their wallet – no app, no plastic, no hardware. Staff stamp by scanning the card with their own phone. You also get lock-screen push messages, birthday automations, win-back messages for inactive customers, Google review requests, flash promotions, geofencing reminders near the shop, return-visit stats and a printable QR counter display.
Price: As of November 2026, stampa is free to use – all features, unlimited cards, no credit card required. Later: free up to 100 active customers, paid plans from €29/month.
Best for: Cafés, bakeries, barbers, food trucks – anyone who wants to be live in about five minutes.
Honest take: Stamping is a separate scan, not tied to your till. If you want every card payment to add a stamp automatically, a POS-native option like Square or SumUp does that better.
Loopy Loyalty: unlimited customers at a flat price
What it is: A wallet stamp card platform for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, no customer app. Its plan comparison lists push messages, geofencing, enrolment forms and Zapier/Make integration.
Price (source: loopyloyalty.com/pricing): Starter $25/month or $250/year – unlimited customers, 1 card design, 1 location, 3 staff users. Growth and Ultimate plans cover more locations; we didn't capture their prices. 15-day free trial.
Best for: High-traffic shops that don't want to pay per customer.
Honest take: The flat price with unlimited customers is excellent value at volume. There's no permanent free plan, and prices are in US dollars.
Stamp Me: own app, games and StampPod
What it is: An Australian loyalty platform. According to its "How it works" page, customers download the Stamp Me app and join your program; the member code can also be shown in Apple or Google Wallet. Staff stamp via a merchant app or the "StampPod" tap device on the counter.
Price (source: stampme.com/pricing): Lite $49/month (€29 in the euro view), Pro $79/month (€49), plus an Elite tier. 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
Best for: Shops that want extras like Scratch & Win games and a birthday club.
Honest take: More engagement features than plain wallet tools. But asking customers to download an app at the till is a real hurdle – many won't.
Boomerangme: many channels, POS integrations
What it is: A wallet card and retention platform with push, SMS and email automation. Its FAQ says it can connect to your POS or run standalone with a scanner app.
Price: The vendor says "start free; paid plans add more promotions, locations, integrations". We couldn't read monthly prices on boomerangme.cards/pricing, so: not stated.
Best for: Businesses that want loyalty, SMS and email managed in one tool.
Honest take: Very feature-rich, with agency plans too. For a single small café, that can be more tool than you need.
Square Loyalty: built into Square POS
What it is: Loyalty inside the Square point-of-sale system. Customers typically enter their phone number at checkout and earn points automatically.
Price (source: squareup.com/us/en/software/loyalty): 30-day free trial; the monthly price was not stated on the page we checked.
Best for: Shops already running Square.
Honest take: Zero extra steps at checkout – no standalone tool can match that. You're tied to Square, and it's a points system rather than a wallet card the customer carries around.
SumUp Loyalty: stamps from card payments
What it is: Launched in April 2026 (per SumUp's press release of 21 April 2026) in Germany, the UK, France, Ireland, Spain and Italy. Card payments automatically turn into points or stamps; customers link their card once in the SumUp Local app.
Price: SumUp says the core loyalty features are included in the SumUp POS purchase price. Exact price: not stated.
Best for: Shops already taking payments with SumUp.
Honest take: Automatic and hands-off. But it only works with SumUp card payments, and customers need the SumUp Local app.
Passcreator: wallet passes for teams with developers
What it is: A general wallet pass platform for Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet – loyalty cards, memberships, tickets. The vendor states ISO 27001 certification, EU servers and an API.
Price (source: passcreator.com/de/preise): Free plan with 5 active passes and all features. Larger plans: not stated in what we captured. Prices exclude VAT.
Best for: Businesses integrating wallet cards into their own systems.
Honest take: Flexible and strong on data protection. Its FAQ says you need your own Apple Developer account, and 5 free passes are only enough for testing.
PassKit: for volume and developers
What it is: A wallet platform for loyalty, membership, coupons and tickets.
Price (source: passkit.com/pricing): A platform fee based on team seats plus charges by pass volume, billed monthly in arrears. Exact numbers: not stated.
Best for: Larger brands and developer teams.
Honest take: Predictable at scale, but harder to estimate for one small shop than a flat monthly price.
Is there a digital loyalty stamp card that's actually free?
Yes, but "free" means different things:
- Free to use: stampa – as of November 2026, all features, unlimited cards, no credit card.
- Free plan with a cap: Passcreator (5 active passes).
- Free trial, then paid: Loopy Loyalty (15 days), Stamp Me (30 days), Square Loyalty (30 days).
Want to start even simpler? Our free loyalty card template generator makes printable or digital cards. For the full picture of what free plans include, see free stamp card apps.
How do I choose the right loyalty card app?
Three questions settle most cases:
- Do you use Square or SumUp? Check their built-in loyalty first.
- Should customers install an app? If not, choose a wallet tool. Why this matters at the till: loyalty app vs. wallet pass.
- Do you have developers? If yes and you need an API, PassKit or Passcreator. If no, pick something you can set up in the browser.
And be honest about paper: if your regulars don't use smartphones, a paper card still works. We compare both in paper vs. digital stamp card.
Bottom line
No single app wins for everyone. Loopy is great value with unlimited customers, Square and SumUp win on zero-step checkout, Stamp Me on games and hardware. stampa is the easiest pick if you want a wallet stamp card running today without paying: as of November 2026, stampa is free to use – all features, unlimited cards, no credit card required. Setup takes about five minutes. Start for free.