Paper card or Wallet card: which to choose?
The paper card costs little and everyone knows it. Here’s what it doesn’t do, and what a card in the phone changes.
Published September 30, 2026 · 4 min read
A cardboard stamp card is the simplest loyalty program there is: no tool, no training, one stamp and you’re off. For many cafés, bakeries and salons, it has done the job for years.
Its limits show when you want to know who comes back, remind a regular or avoid imitated stamps. That’s where a Wallet card, in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, changes things.
Point by point
| Point | Paper card | Wallet card |
|---|---|---|
| Forgetting | Paper cardLeft in another coat, it doesn’t count. | Wallet cardIt’s in the phone, which the customer almost always has with them. |
| Loss | Paper cardThe stamps disappear with the card. | Wallet cardThe stamps are kept: the customer gets the card back with their phone number or email. |
| Cheating | Paper cardA rubber stamp can be imitated, and nothing detects it. | Wallet cardEach stamp is tied to an employee and a daily limit. |
| Tracking | Paper cardYou don’t know how many customers come back. | Wallet cardYou see who signs up, who comes in and who comes back, week after week. |
| Reminders | Paper cardNone. | Wallet cardA notice appears on the phone when the card changes; promotions go out with the customer’s consent. |
| Cost | Paper cardA few cents per card, plus reprints. | Wallet cardA $89 monthly subscription, all included. |
| For the customer | Paper cardNothing to install, nothing to figure out. | Wallet cardA code to scan, then “Add”: no app to download. |
What suits your business
Keep the paper card if…
- your customers come rarely, a few times a year;
- you don’t want to know more than “they got their coffee”;
- a monthly subscription can’t be justified yet.
Switch to the Wallet card if…
- your regulars come back every week or every month;
- you want to know who comes back, and remind those who stopped;
- you’re tired of lost cards and doubtful stamps.
Switching without losing anything
Your customers keep their stamps: at the counter, the employee counts those on the old card, adds them to the new one in one go. Any bonus is your choice.
34% vs 19%
With 2 free stamps at the start, 34% of cards get completed, versus 19% for an empty card, for the same effort.
A customer who leaves with a few stamps already earned is more likely to finish the card. The transfer preserves that progress. You choose whether to add a bonus.
Sources
- Nunes and Drèze, 2006 (academic study, Coglode summary)(opens in a new tab)accessed September 30, 2026.
- Apple, Wallet documentation: pass field content (changeMessage key)(opens in a new tab)accessed September 30, 2026.
- Google, Google Wallet documentation: loyalty cards(opens in a new tab)accessed September 30, 2026.
See your paper cards become Wallet cards.
A 15-minute demo by video call, on your own phone.