Loyalty Card Maker: Design and Issue Branded Digital Cards

A loyalty card maker is a tool that lets you design and issue branded digital cards your customers can keep on their phones. Instead of paper stamps that get lost, you create a card with your logo, colours and reward rules, then send it to customers by email, SMS or QR code.

See also: Best Loyalty App for Small Business: How to Choose · Loyalty Program Software: What to Compare Before You Buy

This guide covers how to choose a loyalty card maker, what to put on the card, and how to roll it out without confusing staff or customers. You will learn what makes a digital loyalty card easy to use, how to set reward thresholds that actually bring people back, and the simple steps to launch a card scheme in a cafe, salon, shop or clinic.

Digital Card Basics

A digital loyalty card works like a paper stamp card, but it lives on a customer’s phone. Instead of carrying a wallet full of punched cards, the customer opens a link, taps “Add to Wallet,” or scans a QR code at your counter. Each visit updates the card automatically. For you, that means no printing costs, no lost cards, and no manual stamping.

The core elements are simple. A customer earns a stamp, point, or visit credit each time they buy. After a set number of visits, they get a reward: a free coffee, a discount on a haircut, a complimentary car wash, or a free side dish. The card shows their progress, your branding, and your reward terms.

What makes a digital card practical

A cafe can set a ten-visit card with a free drink as the reward. The customer scans a QR code at the till. The system records the visit. On the tenth scan, the card shows a redeemable reward. The barista sees it on the customer’s phone and clears it with one tap. No paper, no stamp pad, no disputes about whether the card was full.

A salon can use a points-based card instead. A customer earns points per dollar spent. After reaching a threshold, they unlock a discount on their next service. This works better for businesses with varied ticket sizes. Points reflect actual spending.

A car wash benefits from a punch-style card because the service price is usually the same. Five washes, sixth free. The digital card lets the owner track how many customers redeem, which locations see the most repeat visits, and how long the average gap is between washes.

Design without clutter

A loyalty card maker should keep the design focused. The customer glances at the card for two seconds. They need to see three things immediately: your business name, their progress, and the reward. Everything else is secondary.

Use your brand colours and logo, but keep the progress bar or stamp row high on the card. If a customer has four of eight stamps, that should be obvious at arm’s length. Put the reward text directly under the progress: “Free regular coffee after 8 visits.” Avoid vague wording like “Get rewarded soon.” Customers respond to specific promises.

A gym can add a small note about expiry if the card has one. For example, a 12-visit card might expire after six months. State that clearly on the card. Hidden expiry dates create friction at the front desk. If a customer argues that nobody told them, the card itself should be the proof.

Issuing the card

Most digital loyalty cards are issued through a QR code at the counter, a link sent by SMS or email, or a sign-up form on a tablet. The simplest path for a small shop is a printed QR code near the till. The customer scans it, enters a name or phone number, and the card appears on their phone. From then on, they can save it to their home screen or wallet.

A restaurant can add the sign-up link to the bottom of the receipt. “Join our loyalty card — scan here.” That catches customers at the moment they have just paid and are thinking about value. A salon can send the link in the appointment reminder text. The customer arrives already enrolled, and the first visit is logged before they sit in the chair.

The key is to issue the card at the first visit, not after the third. A customer who gets a card on visit one has a reason to return. A customer who hears about the card on visit three feels like they missed out.

Branding Your Card

A loyalty card is not just a punch counter. It is a small piece of your shop’s identity that lives in a customer’s wallet or phone. The colours, logo, and wording on the card should match the rest of your business so customers recognise it instantly. A cafe with a warm, rustic brand might use cream and brown tones on its digital card. A car wash with a bold, high-energy look might use bright blue and yellow. The card should feel like it belongs to the same family as your signage, menus, or uniforms.

Start with your logo. Place it at the top or centre of the card where it is easy to see. If your logo is detailed, keep the rest of the design simple. A cluttered card confuses people. For a salon, a clean white background with the salon name in your usual font and a small pair of scissors or comb icon is often enough. You do not need to fill every corner.

Choose one or two brand colours and stick to them. If your shop front is green and white, use those colours for the card background, progress bar, or stamp icons. This consistency helps customers remember where the card came from. A restaurant with a red and black theme could use a red stamp area and black text. Avoid using more than three colours, because extra colours make the card look generic rather than branded.

The wording on the card matters as much as the design. Use the same tone you use in your shop. A friendly neighbourhood cafe might write “Buy 9 coffees, get the 10th on us.” A more formal restaurant could write “Collect 10 stamps and receive a complimentary main course.” Keep the reward description short and specific. Customers should know exactly what they are working towards without reading a paragraph.

Include a clear call to action. Phrases like “Show this card at the till” or “Tap to collect your stamp” remove confusion. For a gym, a card might say “Scan after every session.” For a salon, “Show this card when you pay.” The call to action should match how your staff actually process the card. If your team scans a QR code, write “Scan here.” If they enter a code manually, write “Show your code to staff.”

Consider adding a small line about your business hours or location if space allows. A card for a bakery could include “Open daily from 7am” under the logo. This turns the card into a mini advertisement every time a customer opens it. But do not overload the card. The primary job is to track visits and remind customers of the reward. Extra details should never push the logo or reward text to the side.

Test the card on a phone screen before you issue it. What looks clear on a desktop design tool may be too small on a mobile display. Check that the logo is readable, the text is not cramped, and the stamp or progress area is obvious. Ask one or two staff members to open the card on their own phones and tell you what they see first. If they do not mention your shop name or the reward within a few seconds, simplify the design.

A well-branded loyalty card does more than track purchases. It reminds customers why they chose your shop and gives them one more reason to return.

Choosing a Template

A template gives you a starting structure, but the real work is adapting it to how your business actually runs. A good loyalty card maker offers templates for different shop types, yet the best choice depends less on the category name and more on your reward rhythm, customer habits, and how staff will check the card at the counter.

Match the template to your reward pace

If you run a cafe or juice bar where customers visit several times a week, pick a template with many stamp slots, such as nine or ten. That keeps the reward slightly out of reach so customers return often, but not so far away that they give up. A punch-style template with a simple grid works well here because staff can mark it in under a second during a busy morning rush.

For a car wash or salon, where visits happen monthly or less, a shorter card makes more sense. A five-visit template with a clear "buy four, get the fifth free" layout feels achievable. Customers can picture themselves completing it within a few months. A template with large, bold progress circles suits this slower cycle better than a dense grid of tiny stamps.

Think about how customers will see the card

Most digital loyalty cards live in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, which means the design must stay readable on a small phone screen. Templates with oversized numbers, high contrast between filled and empty slots, and a single accent colour tend to perform better than busy illustrated backgrounds. A bakery might choose a warm cream background with dark brown stamp circles. A gym could use a clean white card with a bold green progress bar.

Avoid templates that rely on fine print or small icons to explain the reward. If a customer glances at the card while waiting in line, they should immediately understand how many visits remain. The template should make the next step obvious.

Consider how staff will interact with it

Some templates are built for self-service scanning. Others are designed for staff to tap or swipe on their own device. If your counter staff handle the phone, choose a template with large touch targets. A restaurant server carrying plates should not need to squint at a tiny checkbox. A template with full-width progress bars or oversized stamp buttons reduces mistakes.

For salons and barbershops where the same stylist sees the same client repeatedly, a template that shows the client's name and last visit date can be useful. Some loyalty card makers let you add a small text field for this. It helps staff say, "Welcome back, you have two visits left," without opening a separate booking system.

Test the template against your real offer

Before committing, write down your actual reward. If you give a free coffee after eight purchases, load a template and check that eight slots fit without scrolling. If you offer a discount after spending a certain amount, pick a template with a monetary progress bar rather than a visit counter. A car wash offering a free basic wash after five premium washes needs a template that tracks service type, not just a generic stamp.

A template is not just decoration. It is the interface between your customer's motivation and your staff's daily workflow. Pick the one that makes both sides effortless.

Adding Rewards Logic

A loyalty card is only as good as the reward it promises. The design might bring customers in, but the logic keeps them returning. Most loyalty card maker tools let you set this up without any coding, but you need to decide the rules before you start.

Pick a structure that matches your margins

Coffee shops and bakeries often use a simple stamp system. A customer buys nine drinks and gets the tenth free. This is easy to explain at the counter and works when your average ticket is low and repeat visits are frequent. You set the card to track visits or purchases, not pounds spent.

For a salon or a car wash, a visit-based reward can be too generous. A full detail or a colour treatment costs far more than an espresso. Use a points system instead. Every pound or dollar spent earns a point, and a set number of points unlocks a discount or a free service. A car wash might offer 500 points for a free basic wash, with a standard wash earning 100 points and a premium wash earning 200. The customer sees progress, but you protect your margin on high-cost services.

Restaurants sit somewhere in the middle. A common approach is a spend threshold. After a customer spends a total of £100 across any number of visits, they get £10 off their next meal. This encourages larger orders and does not punish you for a table that shares one main course.

Set expiry rules deliberately

A loyalty card with no expiry date is a promise you may not want to keep forever. Many card maker platforms let you add an expiry, either on points or on the card itself. A gym might set points to expire after 12 months of inactivity. That is fair: a member who has not visited in a year is unlikely to return for a free smoothie, but the expiry nudges them to come back before the deadline.

For a café, a stamp card that expires after six months can backfire. Regulars who visit twice a month would lose their progress and feel cheated. If your business sees steady, predictable footfall, leave the card open-ended. If you run a seasonal business, such as a garden centre café, set the card to reset each spring and advertise that clearly.

Build in a first-visit bonus

A small head start makes the card feel active immediately. When a customer scans their new card, give them one stamp or 50 points as a welcome. This is not a freebie that costs you a full reward. It is a psychological nudge. A customer with one stamp on a ten-stamp card is more likely to return than one staring at an empty row.

Test the logic before you print

Create a test customer in your loyalty card maker and run through the scenarios. Buy one item. Buy ten. Redeem a reward. Check what happens if a customer tries to redeem twice. Make sure the staff view shows the same balance as the customer view. A mismatch at the till erodes trust faster than any reward can build it.

Custom Card Fields

A loyalty card that only tracks points misses a lot of useful information. The right fields turn a simple stamp card into a small customer database. When you set up a card in a loyalty card maker, think about which details will actually help you serve customers better and market to them more effectively.

Fields that earn their place

Start with the basics. A customer name field is obvious, but it matters more than you might think. Staff can greet regulars by name, which costs nothing and builds habit. A phone number or email field lets you send a reminder when a customer is one visit away from a reward. For a car wash, that reminder might arrive on a Friday afternoon, exactly when someone is thinking about weekend errands.

A birthday field works well for salons and cafes. A free coffee on a birthday costs you roughly the price of a cup and often brings in a friend who pays full price. A salon might offer a discount on a treatment during the birthday month. The key is to make the offer specific and automatic, not a vague promise.

Fields for different businesses

A gym benefits from fields that track goals or class preferences. If a member always books spin classes, a field noting that preference lets you message them when a new spin time opens. A restaurant might track dietary requirements, so a customer who always asks for gluten-free options gets a menu note attached to their card without repeating themselves.

Car washes often add a vehicle make and model field. This lets staff recommend the right wash package. A salon might track the colour formula used on a client's hair, so the next visit starts faster. These fields reduce friction and make the customer feel remembered.

Avoid overloading the card

Too many fields create friction at sign-up. A customer standing at a counter will not fill in a form with twelve questions. Choose three to five fields maximum for the initial sign-up. You can add more later, once the customer is engaged.

A good loyalty card maker lets you mark fields as optional or required. Keep only the name and one contact method as required. Everything else should be optional. A cafe that demands a birthday before issuing a card will lose sign-ups. A cafe that asks for a birthday as an optional field will still collect it from most customers, because people like birthday rewards.

Practical examples

A coffee shop card might have: first name, mobile number, birthday (optional), favourite drink (optional). The favourite drink field means a regular can say "the usual" and staff can check the card instead of guessing.

A car wash card might have: name, mobile number, vehicle type, last wash date. The last wash date is filled in automatically by the loyalty system each time the card is scanned. This lets you send a reminder three weeks after the last visit, when cars are getting dirty again.

A restaurant card might have: name, email, dietary notes, anniversary date. The anniversary field triggers a "book a table for your anniversary" email, which works well for higher-spend venues.

The point of custom fields is not to collect data for its own sake. Each field should connect to a specific action: a greeting, a reminder, a recommendation, or an offer. If a field does not lead to one of those, cut it.

Mobile Wallet Setup

A digital loyalty card only works if customers can find it quickly at the till. That means putting the card into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, not burying it in an email or a PDF. Most loyalty card makers now include a wallet pass as a standard output, but the setup step is where shop owners often lose customers. Get this part right and the card becomes a one-tap habit. Get it wrong and staff end up searching for a phone screenshot while the queue grows.

Start by deciding what the wallet pass should show. The front of the pass is small. It needs the customer name, the current stamp or point balance, the shop name and a simple visual cue such as a colour band or logo. Do not try to fit a menu, opening hours or a map on the front. Those belong on the back of the pass, where the customer can scroll if they want details. A cafe might put the shop address and a link to the order-ahead page on the back. A car wash could list the three wash tiers so the customer knows what a full stamp card earns.

The pass also needs a barcode or QR code. This is what staff scan at the point of sale. Most loyalty card makers generate this automatically when you create the card. Test the code on the actual till scanner before you roll out the card to customers. A barcode that works on a phone screen in bright shop lighting is not guaranteed. If the scanner struggles, switch to a QR code or ask the loyalty card maker to increase the contrast between the code and the background.

Location-based notifications are the next practical step. Apple Wallet and Google Wallet can show a pass on the lock screen when the customer walks near your shop. This is not a push message you write each week. It is a simple trigger based on the shop address you enter during setup. A salon can use this so a client arriving for a haircut sees the loyalty card appear without opening any app. A restaurant can trigger the pass when a regular walks past on the way to the station. Set the radius sensibly. A city-centre cafe might use 100 metres. A gym on a retail park might use 300 metres because customers drive in and park further away.

Updating the balance is where many setups fall apart. If the loyalty card maker supports live balance updates, connect it to your point-of-sale system before you issue any cards. Then each purchase updates the pass automatically. The customer sees the new stamp count without you doing anything. If live updates are not available, you need a manual workflow. This works for a small salon with five staff and a slow Tuesday, but it fails in a busy cafe at Saturday lunch. Choose the live option if your till system allows it.

Finally, give staff a simple script for the first week. When a customer asks about the loyalty scheme, the staff member says: "I'll send the card to your phone now. It goes straight into your wallet." Then the staff member sends the pass link by SMS or email from the loyalty card maker. The customer taps once to add it. No app download, no account creation at the counter. That single tap is the difference between a card that gets used and one that gets forgotten.

Distribution Methods

You need a clear path from the moment a customer says yes to the moment they start collecting stamps. The right distribution method depends on how your staff interact with customers and where the sale actually happens.

QR codes at the counter

The fastest method for most shops is a printed QR code placed where customers already wait or pay. Print one code on a small acrylic stand next to the till, another on the receipt, and a third on the front door. A customer scans the code with their phone camera, the card opens in their browser or wallet, and they save it to their home screen. No app download, no email entry, no friction.

Test the placement before you commit. A cafe owner might put the QR stand beside the card reader, but customers are often juggling a tray, a bag, and a phone at that moment. Moving the stand to the pick-up counter or the condiment station can double the number of scans without any extra staff effort.

For salons and barbershops, the waiting area is prime real estate. A small framed QR code on the coffee table or the reception desk gives clients something useful to do while they wait. Add one line of text: "Scan to join our loyalty card — your next cut earns points from today."

Staff-led signup at the till

QR codes work well for self-serve customers, but many people simply will not scan unless asked. Staff-led signup turns the loyalty card into a normal part of the transaction. The script matters less than the timing.

Train staff to mention the card after the customer has paid, not before. Once the transaction is complete, the customer is no longer mentally calculating the bill and is more likely to listen. A simple line works: "We have a digital loyalty card — buy five coffees, the sixth is free. Want me to send you the link?"

The key is that the staff member initiates the action. Customers rarely refuse when the offer is concrete and the setup takes under ten seconds.

For restaurants, the same approach works at the end of a meal. A server can mention the card while returning the card machine or dropping off the bill. Keep the reward simple enough to explain in one sentence. "Join our loyalty card and you get a free dessert after four visits" is far easier to act on than a points-per-pound system that requires mental arithmetic.

Email and SMS after the visit

Some customers will not sign up in person, no matter how smooth the process. A follow-up message after their first visit catches them when they are at home and less rushed. Most loyalty card makers let you export a signup link or QR code that you can drop into an existing email template or text message.

A car wash or gym can use this method effectively because they already collect a phone number or email for bookings. After the appointment, send a short message: "Thanks for visiting today. We've set aside a loyalty card for you — your visit today already counts. Tap here to claim it."

The phrase "already counts" is the hook. Customers are more likely to open a card that has progress on it than an empty one. If your loyalty card maker allows you to pre-stamp the first visit, use that feature. A card with one stamp out of six feels like a head start. An empty card feels like homework.

Printed cards with a digital bridge

Some customers still prefer a physical card in their wallet. You can support this without abandoning the digital system. Print small cards with a QR code on the back that links to the same digital loyalty card. The customer taps their phone on the physical card, the digital version opens, and they collect stamps digitally from that point on.

This hybrid approach suits businesses with an older customer base, such as traditional barbershops, neighbourhood bakeries, or family-run restaurants. The physical card acts as a familiar object, while the QR code quietly moves the customer into the digital system where you can track visits and send reminders.

A simple layout works best: your shop name and logo on the front, a single QR code on the back with the words "Tap to collect your stamps." No need to print individual card numbers or barcodes. The QR code is the same for every customer, so you only design and print one version.

Social media and website links

Your loyalty card should live wherever customers already find you. Add the signup link to your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile, and the footer of your website. A short post announcing the card works once, but the permanent links do the ongoing work.

For a salon, a pinned Instagram story with a "Loyalty card" sticker linking directly to the signup page turns casual profile visitors into cardholders. For a cafe, a line on the website menu page — "Join our loyalty card and get your seventh drink free" — catches people who are already checking your opening hours or menu before they visit.

Do not rely on social media alone. It works as a supplement to counter signups, not a replacement. The highest-converting distribution channel is almost always the one that happens in person, at the moment of purchase, with a staff member making the offer.

Tracking Card Usage

A loyalty card maker helps you issue the cards. The real value comes when you track how customers use them. Without usage data, you cannot tell whether your programme drives repeat visits or simply hands out free rewards to people who would have come back anyway.

Start by defining what counts as a stamp, point or visit. For a cafe, one stamp per transaction is common. A car wash might award one stamp per wash regardless of price. A salon could give one point per pound spent. Decide this before you print or issue anything, because changing the rules later confuses staff and customers.

What to record

At minimum, log four things for every card transaction: the customer identifier, the date, the staff member who processed it, and the reward earned or redeemed. If your loyalty card maker supports unique card numbers or QR codes, use them. This lets you connect activity to a specific person without asking for a name at the counter.

A simple spreadsheet works for a single location. Columns might include: card number, customer name or phone, visit date, points added, reward redeemed, staff initials. Update it daily or weekly. If you run two or more sites, use the reporting built into your digital loyalty card maker or a lightweight CRM. Manual spreadsheets across locations quickly become unreliable.

What the data tells you

Look for three patterns each month.

First, redemption rate. Count how many rewards were earned versus how many were redeemed. A cafe that issues 200 free coffees but sees only 40 redeemed has a problem. Customers are not motivated by the reward, or they forget about the card. A redemption rate that is too low means your reward is not attractive enough or too hard to reach. Adjust the threshold or the reward itself.

Second, visit frequency. Pick ten customers who joined the programme in the same month.This is not a formal study, but it shows whether the card changes behaviour. If both groups return at the same rate, the card is not doing its job.

Third, reward cost. Calculate the cost of each redeemed reward as a percentage of the revenue that customer brought in before earning it. For example, a car wash offering a free £10 wash after five £8 washes spends £10 to secure £40 in tracked visits. That is a 25 per cent reward cost. If that is too high, move the threshold to seven washes or offer a smaller reward.

Acting on the data

Use the tracking to make small, specific changes. If a gym sees most check-ins on Monday and Tuesday, send a reminder or bonus point offer for quieter days. If a restaurant notices that customers redeem mostly on weekends, consider a weekday-only double points window to spread demand.

Review the numbers monthly. Ten minutes with a spreadsheet is enough for most independent shops. The goal is not complex analytics. It is knowing whether the card brings people back more often than they would come anyway.

Design Mistakes to Avoid

A loyalty card that looks good on a desktop screen can fail at the counter. The card sits in a wallet app, gets scanned under poor lighting, and is glanced at for a second while a queue forms behind the customer. These conditions expose design choices that slow down staff, confuse customers, or make the card hard to use.

The most common mistake is overcrowding. A cafe owner might want to include the logo, a photo of latte art, a background pattern, the shop address, social handles, and a tagline. The result is a card where the stamp or point balance is hard to find. The customer opens the card and sees decoration, not progress. Keep the top half of the card focused on two things: the business name and the current balance or stamp count. Everything else is secondary.

Small text is another recurring problem. A salon owner designs a card with the terms in eight-point type: "Valid on services over £30, excludes Saturdays, not combinable with other offers." The customer cannot read it on a phone screen. Staff end up explaining the rules repeatedly, which defeats the purpose of a digital card. If a condition matters, make it large enough to read without zooming. If it does not fit, cut it.

Low contrast causes real friction at the till. A car wash uses pale blue text on a white background. The phone screen is dimmed to save battery, the sun is hitting the counter, and the scanner cannot pick up the code. The customer holds up the line while tilting the phone and raising the brightness. A loyalty card maker should let you test contrast before issuing. Use dark text on light backgrounds or light text on dark backgrounds. Avoid mid-tones next to each other.

Ignoring the thumbnail view is a subtle but costly error. Most wallet apps show loyalty cards as small rectangles in a list. A restaurant designs a card with the logo centred and the business name only inside the logo artwork. In the thumbnail, the name is illegible. The customer has five cards and cannot tell which one belongs to the restaurant. Design the card so the business name appears as plain text near the top, separate from any logo image.

Another mistake is using a full-bleed photo as the background without a solid overlay. A gym uses a photo of a member lifting weights. The white stamp icons disappear against the bright areas of the photo. The fix is simple: place a semi-transparent dark or light layer between the photo and the card content. The photo still adds character, but the stamps and balance stay visible.

Inconsistent branding between the physical shop and the digital card confuses regulars. A bakery has a green and cream sign outside, but the digital card uses orange and black because the owner liked a template. Customers do not immediately connect the card on their phone with the shop they just walked into. Match the card colours to the shopfront, menu, or receipt design.

Finally, do not bury the reward. A coffee shop offers a free drink after eight stamps, but the card only shows "3 stamps" with no indication of the goal. The customer does not know how close they are to a reward. Show the target clearly: "3 of 8 stamps" or a progress bar. The whole point of a loyalty card is to make the next visit feel worthwhile. If the design hides that, the card works against you.

Before issuing a card, test it on two or three different phone models, in bright and dim light, and from the distance a cashier would normally see it. If you have to squint, zoom, or tilt the phone, the design needs work.

How PassHive handles this

We publish this site, and we also build PassHive. That means the advice in this guide is not theoretical. It is the same workflow we use when a cafe, salon, barbershop, car wash, restaurant or gym asks how to move from paper cards to digital ones.

PassHive is a loyalty card maker for branded stamp cards and points cards that customers save to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. You design the card once, preview it on iPhone and Android for free, and pay only when you go live.

What you get

You can create a stamp card, such as buy 9 coffees and get the 10th free, or a points card where each visit or purchase adds a set number of points. The card carries your shop’s name, colour and logo. When a customer earns a stamp or points, the card on their phone updates itself. They do not need to download an app. They join by scanning a QR code at the counter or opening a link.

Push notifications can be sent to saved cards. A salon might send “your reward is ready” or a cafe might send a quiet-hour offer. Google limits messages to roughly 3 per card per day, so this works best for occasional, useful updates rather than daily noise.

The card can also remind customers near your shop. Apple supports up to 10 locations per card with a radius of about 200 metres, and Google uses your merchant locations. The phone decides when to show the reminder, so we describe it as “can remind” rather than a guaranteed pop-up.

A single-location cafe pays $10 per month. That covers one branch, unlimited customers and unlimited cards. Larger groups pay $25 per month for up to 100 branches, $50 per month for up to 275 branches, or $100 per month for up to 1,250 branches. Yearly billing gives two months free.

To put that in perspective, PassKit starts at $39.50 per month with 250 passes included, then adds per-pass fees. A cafe with 1,000 customers would pay roughly $73 per month on PassKit. The same cafe pays $10 per month on PassHive. At 10,000 customers, PassKit works out to about $341 per month, while PassHive stays at $10. You can check PassHive pricing yourself.

You can turn any branch off at any time, and its cards stop immediately. That matters if you close a location or pause a franchise branch.

For developers and agencies

PassHive includes a public REST API with API keys. Developers and agencies can create cards, add stamps, add points and send messages from their own POS, app or website. Documentation is at passhive.app/docs. We do not claim integrations with Shopify, Square, Toast or any specific POS. PassHive is not a POS and not an e-commerce plugin. If you need a direct integration, your developer checks the API and builds the connection.

The honest trade-off is simple. PassHive does one job: branded digital loyalty cards in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, with updates, messages and location reminders. If you need those, you will need another tool alongside it.

You can start designing your card free and see how it looks on a real phone before paying anything.

PassHive is a flat monthly plan for the whole business, not a fee per branch. The plan sets the maximum number of active branches you can run: $10 a month for up to 100 branches, $25 for up to 275, $50 for up to 600 and $100 for up to 1,250. Yearly billing gives two months free ($100, $250, $500 or $1,000 a year). A cafe with one branch pays $10 a month in total, whatever the number of cards or customers. That is what "pay for your branches, not your customers" means: the plan size follows how many branches you run, never how many people save your card.