Digital Stamp Cards for Cafés and Salons: A Setup Guide

To set up a digital stamp card for a café or salon, decide the reward and how many stamps earn it, design the card with your logo and colours, publish it, put a QR code on the counter so customers can add it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and give stamps by scanning the card at the till. Most of the work is the first step. The rest takes an afternoon. This guide walks through each stage and the choices that matter for a café with fast, repeat visits and for a salon with fewer, higher-value visits.

Step 1: Design the offer before the card

A stamp card only works if customers can see themselves finishing it. Before you open any software, decide four things.

• What earns a stamp. Cafés usually stamp per coffee. Salons usually stamp per visit or per service. Pick one rule that staff can apply without thinking.
• How many stamps. Match it to how often people really visit you. A café with daily regulars can ask for more stamps than a salon whose clients return every six to eight weeks. If a typical customer cannot finish the card in a few months, it is too long.
• The reward. Make it something you can afford to give and customers actually want: a free coffee, a free blow-dry add-on or a discount on the next service. Write it in one short line.
• What happens when the card is full. Decide whether the card restarts, and who is allowed to hand over the reward.

If you are still choosing between stamps and points, our guide to digital loyalty cards for Australian small businesses covers the trade-offs. Stamps are the simpler choice for a single venue. Points, tiers and rewards catalogues are on Shakewell Wallet's Growth plan and above; stamp cards are on every plan.

Step 2: Create the card

In Shakewell Wallet the card builder has four steps: Basics, Brand and design, Pass content and Review.

1. Basics. Choose a stamp card as the type of card, name it (for example "Coffee Shop Loyalty Card"), and set how many stamps a customer collects and what the reward is.
2. Brand and design. Upload your logo, choose your background and text colours and check the live preview. A logo is required to publish.
3. Pass content. Choose the details customers give when they join, such as name and email. Ask only for what you will actually use. If you plan to email customers, read the ACMA's guidance on avoiding spam first, and see the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner's small business guidance on privacy.
4. Review. Check every step, then save as a draft or publish.

The same template produces an Apple Wallet pass for iPhone and a Google Wallet pass for Android, so customers on either phone can join (iPhone and Android). Browse the templates page if you want to see example designs first.

Step 3: Put the signup QR code where customers will see it

Each card can have its own signup page. A customer opens it, fills in a short form and adds the card to their wallet. Nothing is downloaded.

After you publish, the card's share page gives you a signup link, a downloadable QR code, a counter poster (A4) and a table tent (A4, folded in half). Print the QR code and test it with your own phone first.

Good places for it:

• Café: next to the register, on the takeaway cup sleeve or on the table tent at each table.
• Salon: at reception, on the mirror at each chair and on the receipt or booking confirmation.
• Both: on a receipt, in a booking or order email, and on your website using the copyable button snippet.

Then make asking a habit. A visible QR code works far better when a staff member says "Want a digital stamp card? Scan this." We have no figures for sign-up rates because they vary by business. To preview how a code will look on a pass, try the free QR code to wallet tool.

Step 4: Give stamps at the counter

Staff use the Scan page, which works on a phone, tablet or computer.

1. Open Scan in the dashboard.
2. Choose Scan a card and point the camera at the code on the customer's card. If your browser cannot scan, search by name, email, phone number or card code instead.
3. The card appears with its progress, for example "3 of 8 stamps".
4. Choose +1 stamp. If you added one by mistake, choose Undo straight away.

When the card is full, +1 stamp is turned off and the page says so. Choose Redeem reward to hand over the reward and start the card again. Adding stamps needs permission to change cards, so give the right staff the right role.

Step 5: Stamp automatically from sales (optional)

You do not have to stamp by hand. On a stamp card you can add stamp rules saying which products earn a stamp. A sale from a connected till or online store then adds the stamp for you, with no staff action. Shakewell Wallet connects to Shopify and Shopify POS, Square, Klaviyo, WooCommerce and Zapier on every plan; see Square for an in-store example and integrations for the rest.

You can use both methods on the same card, which suits a café that rings coffees through the till but stamps other things by hand. If a purchase should have earned a stamp and did not, the dashboard lists the reason, such as no matching stamp rule or a full card.

Café or salon: what differs

Wallet passes can be updated and sent messages after install, which is how you send the messages in the last row. See how pass updates and push notifications work. More detail on each venue type is on the cafés and salons pages.

Test before you launch

1. Join through your own QR code on an iPhone and an Android phone if you can.
2. Scan the card at the till and add a stamp.
3. Fill the card and redeem the reward.
4. Check that staff who are not account owners can see the buttons they need.
5. Print the poster and check the QR code scans from the distance customers will stand.

What it costs

Stamp cards are included on every Shakewell Wallet plan, plans are flat monthly with no per-pass fees, and there is a free trial. See what a wallet pass platform costs in Australia and the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Do customers need to download an app? No. They scan a QR code, fill in a short form and add the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, which are already on their phone.

Can staff add a stamp by mistake and fix it? Yes. The Scan page has an Undo button straight after adding a stamp.

Can I run a stamp card without a connected till? Yes. Staff add stamps by hand with the Scan page, so no stamp rules or integration are needed.

What happens when a customer fills the card? The Scan page tells staff the card is full. They choose Redeem reward and the card starts again.

Can I replace my paper cards? Yes. See replace plastic cards for how to move customers across.