Paper card, app or Wallet card: compare.
Four ways to keep your customers coming back, compared without jargon, one criterion at a time.
The four ways, side by side
| Criterion | Paper cardSimple, familiar, and silent. | Downloadable appFull-featured, if the customer installs it. | Points in the registerNothing to carry, a number to recite. | Wallet cardIn the phone, with no app. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To start, the customer… | Paper cardtakes a card at the counter. | Downloadable appdownloads an app and creates an account. | Points in the registergives their phone or email at the register. | Wallet cardscans a code and adds the card to their phone. |
| Where the card lives | Paper cardIn their wallet, if they remember it. | Downloadable appIn the app, among their other apps. | Points in the registerNowhere: they’re found by their number. | Wallet cardIn Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, next to their bank cards. |
| If the card is lost | Paper cardThe stamps are lost with it. | Downloadable appThe account keeps them, if they remember the password. | Points in the registerNothing to lose. | Wallet cardNothing to lose: a backup web card keeps the balance. |
| Against cheating | Paper cardA rubber stamp can be imitated. | Downloadable appDepends on the app. | Points in the registerDepends on the register. | Wallet cardEach stamp is tied to an employee, with a daily limit. |
| What you know about your customers | Paper cardNothing: you don’t know who comes back. | Downloadable appWhatever the app measures. | Points in the registerWhatever the register records. | Wallet cardWho comes back, when, and at which location. |
| To remind a customer | Paper cardNo way to. | Downloadable appNotifications, if they allowed them. | Points in the registerAn email or text, depending on the tool. | Wallet cardA notice on the phone when the card changes, and promotions with their consent. |
| What it asks of you | Paper cardPrinting cards, then reprinting them. | Downloadable appConvincing every customer to download. | Points in the registerKeeping the register that holds the points. | Wallet cardNothing: setup is done for you, remotely. |
Customers are turning away from loyalty apps
- 59.0% → 44.1%
- Share of members who mainly use a loyalty app, from 2025 to 2026.
- 34.7% → 42.4%
- Share of members who mainly use a digital card on their phone, from 2025 to 2026.
Antavo, Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026(opens in a new tab). Figure published by a company that sells loyalty software.
Two comparisons in detail
- Read the comparison
Paper card or Wallet card: which to choose?
Loss, cheating, tracking and cost, point by point, and how to switch.
- Read the comparison
Loyalty app or Wallet card?
Download, password, reminders and lock screen: what changes for your customers.
When another way is better
- You see each customer once a year? A paper card may be enough.
- You sell online, with ordering and delivery in your own app? Loyalty can live there.
- Your register already gives points your customers use? Keep them. Just compare what each tool tells you about your regulars.
See the Wallet card on your own phone.
A 15-minute demo by video call. No obligation.