A loyalty app or an Apple and Google Wallet card?
By The Digicard team · Published 15 Oct 2026 · Facts checked
The short answer
For a café with 300 regulars a month, your own loyalty app costs US$10,124–60,124 in its first year, before hosting and upkeep. A subscription app costs US$588. A wallet card costs US$72 to US$2,388, depending on the platform, and asks customers to install nothing.
Build an app if customers will also order, pay or book in it. For stamps and points alone, choose a wallet card.
A wallet card covers the loyalty basics an app does, without the install. Where an app or a marketing-heavy platform is still ahead is in the feature table: SMS and email campaigns, referrals and integrations. Digicard is building those, and they are marked Planned.
Features compared
What each option does, read from each vendor's own website on 15 Oct 2026. Where a vendor's site doesn't mention a feature we say so, rather than guess.
| Feature | Your own app | Stamp Me | Digicard |
|---|---|---|---|
| For your customers | |||
| No app for customers to install | NoCustomers install your app | NoCustomers use the Stamp Me app | Yes |
| Apple Wallet and Google Wallet | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | Yes |
| Customer’s own card page (history, rewards ready) | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | YesBalance, rewards ready and history |
| Card types | |||
| Stamp cards | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | YesMultiple stamp cards | Yes |
| Points and tiers | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | Yes |
| At the counter | |||
| Staff scan from any phone | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | YesStamp codes, StampTag, StampPod or console | YesIn the browser |
| Running the program | |||
| One card across branches | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | NoPlans list a single location | Yes |
| Analytics dashboard | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | YesActivity insights | Yes |
| Marketing | |||
| Message customers on their card | YesPush notifications, while the app stays installed | YesPush notifications in the Stamp Me app | YesOne card or every cardholder |
| Location-based alerts | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | PlannedWe are building this |
| SMS or email campaigns | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | YesSMS | PlannedWe are building this |
| Birthday rewards | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | YesBirthday Club | PartialStaff give it in the birthday month; automatic is planned |
| Referral program | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | PlannedWe are building this |
| Integrations & data | |||
| Customer data export | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | YesA spreadsheet of every customer, for the owner |
| API and webhooks | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | PlannedWe are building this |
| Zapier or Make | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | YesZapier | PlannedWe are building this |
| POS integrations | PartialPossible if you build it, at extra cost | Not stated | PlannedWe are building this |
Yes Partial Planned Not stated No“Not stated” means the vendor's own site does not say. “Planned” means Digicard is building it.
Year-one cost, same business
| Option | Year one (USD) | Year one (PHP) | Billed on | How we worked it out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own loyalty appLoyalty app | US$10,124–60,124 | ≈ ₱635,342–3,773,142 | One-time build, plus app store fees | US$10,000–60,000 build + US$99 Apple + US$25 Google Play. Hosting and upkeep not included. |
| Stamp Me (loyalty app)Loyalty app | US$588 | ≈ ₱36,901 | Flat monthly plan per location | Lite US$49 × 12 months |
| DigicardWallet card | US$72 | ≈ ₱4,518 | Active Cards only | 300 Active Cards × US$0.02 × 12 months, before tax |
| Loopy LoyaltyWallet card | US$300 | ≈ ₱18,827 | Flat monthly plan, sized by locations | Starter US$25 × 12 months (billed monthly) |
| PassKitWallet card | US$537 | ≈ ₱33,700 | Platform fee + every pass record held at month end | US$39.50 × 12 platform + US$63.00 pass volume as 600 cards build up |
| BoomerangmeWallet card | US$2,388 | ≈ ₱149,861 | Flat monthly plan | Business US$199 × 12 months (billed monthly) |
≈ marks a figure converted from the vendor's own billing currency. See “How we compared this” below for the rate and assumptions.
| Option | Year one (USD) | Year one (PHP) | Billed on | How we worked it out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own loyalty appLoyalty app | US$10,124–60,124 | ≈ ₱635,342–3,773,142 | One-time build, plus app store fees | US$10,000–60,000 build + US$99 Apple + US$25 Google Play. Hosting and upkeep not included. |
| Stamp Me (loyalty app)Loyalty app | Not published | Not published | Flat monthly plan per location | Lite covers one location, and Stamp Me does not publish a multi-location price. |
| DigicardWallet card | US$480 | ≈ ₱30,123 | Active Cards only | 2,000 Active Cards × US$0.02 × 12 months, before tax |
| Loopy LoyaltyWallet card | US$828 | ≈ ₱51,962 | Flat monthly plan, sized by locations | Growth US$69 × 12 months (billed monthly) |
| PassKitWallet card | US$1,898 | ≈ ₱119,121 | Platform fee + every pass record held at month end | US$75.75 × 12 platform + US$989.16 pass volume as 4,000 cards build up |
| BoomerangmeWallet card | US$2,388 | ≈ ₱149,861 | Flat monthly plan | Business US$199 × 12 months (billed monthly) |
≈ marks a figure converted from the vendor's own billing currency. See “How we compared this” below for the rate and assumptions.
What changes for your customers
| Question | Your own app | Subscription app (e.g. Stamp Me) | Wallet card (e.g. Digicard) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the first stamp | Find your app in the store, install it, sign up | Install the vendor’s app, sign up, find your business | Scan a QR code, tap Add |
| Where the card lives | Your app | The vendor’s app, next to other businesses | Apple Wallet or Google Wallet |
| Your branding | All of it | Inside the vendor’s app | Your logo and colours on the card |
| Reaching customers | Push notifications, while the app stays installed | Push notifications in the vendor’s app | Updates and messages on the card itself |
| Ordering and payments | Possible, if you build them | Depends on the vendor | No |
| After year one | Hosting, updates for each iOS and Android release, US$99 a year to Apple | The same monthly plan | The same monthly or per-card price |
The download is the hard part
An app does nothing until it's installed, and asking for an install at the counter loses people. 58% of Americans said they were less likely to join a loyalty program that requires an app download (Harris Poll for Wilbur, 2,003 adults, 2019). The survey is several years old and was paid for by a loyalty company, so treat the number as a direction rather than a measurement.
A wallet card skips the step: the customer scans, taps “Add”, and gets the first stamp on the same visit.
Moving from an app to wallet cards
- Set up the wallet card with the same reward rule as the app.
- Put the QR code at the counter and tell app users their next stamp goes on the new card.
- Carry over balances: staff add a customer's existing stamps when they first scan the new card, or we import your member list so each person claims a card already in their name.
- Keep the app running until the last rewards are redeemed, then retire it and its hosting bill.
Choosing a wallet platform
Wallet platforms bill in very different ways. See wallet loyalty platforms compared for Digicard, Loopy Loyalty, PassKit and Boomerangme on the same business.
Questions
How much does it cost to build a loyalty app?
Agency estimates run US$10,000–60,000 to build, from a basic web version up to iPhone and Android apps with point-of-sale integration. On top of that is US$99 a year for Apple's developer program, US$25 once for Google Play, and hosting and updates for as long as the app exists.
Is an Apple Wallet or Google Wallet loyalty card an app?
No. It is a pass that lives inside Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, which come with the phone. The customer adds it from a link or QR code and installs nothing.
Can a wallet loyalty card update itself?
Yes. When staff scan the card, the stamp or point count on the pass changes on the customer’s phone, and Digicard can also put a message on the card.
When is a loyalty app worth it?
When customers will use it for more than loyalty: ordering ahead, paying, or booking. For stamps and points alone, a wallet card does the same job for a fraction of the cost.
Can I send push notifications to customers?
Yes, with a wallet card or an app; not with paper. Digicard puts a message on one customer’s card or on every cardholder’s card, and the phone shows it as a notification. SMS and email campaigns are planned.
Does Digicard integrate with my POS?
Not yet. POS integrations, an API with webhooks, and Zapier or Make are planned. Today staff scan the customer’s card from a phone or tablet in the browser beside the till, which needs no integration.
How we compared this
Prepared by The Digicard team. Digicard sells wallet loyalty cards, so read this as a vendor's comparison: every competitor price below links to the vendor's own pricing page and the day we checked it. If a price has changed, tell us at support@digicard.tech and we will correct the page.
Features
- Competitors' features come from their own pricing and product pages, linked below. “Not stated” means the page didn't say, not that the feature is missing.
- Digicard's “Yes” means it is live today. “Planned” means we are building it and it is not available yet.
- “Your own app” can do almost anything if you pay to build it, so most of its cells say so rather than Yes or No.
The businesses we priced
- One café: 1 location, 300 customers using their card each month, 600 customers carded over the year.
- Three branches: 3 locations, 2,000 customers using their card each month, 4,000 customers carded over the year.
Assumptions
- Costs are for the first 12 months, using each vendor's month-to-month price. Most offer a discount for paying a year up front.
- Paper: 1.5 cards printed per carded customer a year (everyone gets one; half need another because theirs filled up or got lost). Stamps, punches and staff time are not counted.
- Your own app: an agency's published build estimate plus Apple and Google developer fees. Hosting, maintenance, updates and marketing the download are not counted, and they are ongoing.
- Wallet platforms: the cheapest plan that covers the number of locations. PassKit is priced with one staff login per location, with every card issued during the year still on file.
- Digicard: billed on Active Cards, the cards with at least one stamp, reward or message in the month. Philippine prices include 12% VAT; US prices are before sales tax, which varies by state.
- Currency: each vendor's own billing currency is exact. The other column is converted at ₱62.756 = US$1, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reference exchange rate on 25 Sep 2026.
Sources
- Custom loyalty app build (US agency estimate): RaftLabs, Loyalty Program Development Cost (Aug 2026). Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Apple Developer Program: Apple Developer Program. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Google Play developer registration: Google Play Console registration fee. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Stamp Me Lite: Stamp Me pricing. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Loopy Loyalty Starter: Loopy Loyalty pricing. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- PassKit platform fee, 1 username: PassKit, How much does it cost?. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- PassKit loyalty pass volume fee: PassKit, How much does it cost?. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Boomerangme Business: Boomerangme pricing. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Digicard (United States): Digicard US list price. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Loopy Loyalty Growth: Loopy Loyalty pricing. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- PassKit platform fee, 3 usernames: PassKit, How much does it cost?. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- 58% of Americans said they were less likely to join a loyalty program that requires an app download (Harris Poll for Wilbur, 2,003 adults, 2019).: Grocery Dive, April 2019. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
- Stamp Me features: Stamp Me pricing. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
We re-check every price at least once a quarter, and the date at the top of the page moves when we do.
Try Digicard
Running a business in the US? Email us and we'll set you up. In the Philippines, get started here.