Buyer’s guide · loyalty software
Customer loyalty software: how to choose the right one
To choose customer loyalty software, start with how customers earn the reward: stamps per visit, points, cashback or purchases read from the till. Then check what customers must install, who records visits, which data you can export and what it costs for your customers and locations. Iterum offers web stamp or points cards, with no till integration.
Updated by Radman Sattari, Founder of Iterum
What customer loyalty software does
Customer loyalty software runs a business’s loyalty programme: it gives customers a card, records visits or purchases, keeps count of stamps and points and flags when a reward is ready. For the owner it shows who signed up, who comes back and how many rewards were handed over.
It is not a CRM, though some products do both. A CRM organises contacts, deals and sales; loyalty software rewards people who return. If you mainly need to send texts or emails, look at messaging platforms with a loyalty card included. How to design a programme, with a target and a reward, is covered in the customer loyalty programme guide.
The four types of loyalty software for local businesses
Offers for cafés, shops and salons fall into four families, depending on where the card lives and who records the visit. The table uses a few products as examples, described in the words of their public pages read on 12 October 2026: it is a guide, not a ranking, and we have not tested other companies’ products.
| Type | How it works | Example, as described by the vendor | A good fit if… | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web card from a QR code | The card opens in the browser from a QR code or link; staff record the visit on a web page | Iterum: browser card, optional Apple or Google Wallet pass, stamps or points entered by staff | You want zero downloads and a simple rule at the counter | Needs a connection at the counter; no till integration |
| App with a Wallet card | The card goes straight into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet; the merchant scans with an app | Quardy: customers «add their card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet without installing an app»; PassFacile: «points, stamps and top-up» cards | Your customers have recent phones and you want Wallet notifications | What the free tier includes; which app staff use |
| Till with a loyalty module | Points are recorded at the till with each purchase and the balance appears on the receipt | Tilby: «prints the points balance at the end of the receipt» | Spend varies a lot and you already use, or plan to adopt, that till software | The programme stays tied to that till |
| SMS and CRM platform with a loyalty card | The card comes with campaigns by text, email or WhatsApp, including automatic ones | SMSHosting: «set up an automatic text or email» for customers close to a reward | You mainly want to communicate with enrolled customers | Consent, cost per message and who records the points |
Checklist: the features to check in loyalty card software
Pricing pages list many features under different names. These are the ten that really change the work at the counter and what you can do with the data; for each one there is what Iterum offers as of 12 October 2026, including what it lacks.
| Feature | Why it matters | What to ask | Iterum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stamps | The simplest rule for similar visits | Can you set a minimum interval between two stamps? | Yes, on every plan, with a minimum interval set by the owner |
| Points | Rewards spend when the bill varies | Who enters the points, and how is a mistake corrected? | Yes, on every plan: staff type them and an entry can be undone within 10 minutes |
| Cashback | Returns part of the spend as credit | How is the balance in euros kept and used? | No |
| Apple and Google Wallet | The card stays on the phone, next to tickets | Does it work on all your customers’ phones? | Yes, on supported phones; otherwise the card stays in the browser |
| Staff accounts | Several people at the counter, each with their own login | How many users, with which roles, on which plan? | A team with no user limit, with roles and permissions, on every plan |
| Customer list and export | Knowing who returns, and being able to switch provider | Can you export it? Who controls the data? | List with search and export, on every plan |
| Customer messages | Announcing a new reward or holiday opening hours | Which channel, with what consent, how many a month? | On the Wallet pass: messages you write, 2, 4 or 8 a month per location, plus automations you switch on; promotional ones only to customers who consented |
| Several locations | The same card in more than one shop | Does an extra location cost more? What does each location see? | Yes, each extra location costs extra |
| Till or POS integration | Points calculated from the bill, balance on the receipt | Which till, at what cost, who sets it up? | No: it works alongside the till |
| GDPR tools | Answering customers who ask for their data or its deletion | How are requests, export and retention handled? | Customer requests, data export and retention, on every plan |
How much does customer loyalty software cost? Pricing models
Loyalty software prices are hard to compare because they follow different models. Before looking at the amount, work out what you are buying: a month of service, a location, a number of customers or a bundle of cards.
Public prices of several services, with the date they were checked and the VAT treatment, are in the guide how much does a loyalty card cost; Iterum’s prices, excluding VAT, are on the pricing page.
- Monthly or annual subscription: the most common model; annual usually costs less but is paid up front. With Iterum, annual billing covers twelve months for the price of ten.
- Per location: each extra shop can have its own price, as with Iterum, where an additional location is charged separately.
- Per number of customers: the plan sets how many customers can sign up, in total or over a period. In Iterum total customers are unlimited and the plan includes 300, 1,000 or 5,000 new customers a month; sign-ups continue past that number.
- Per card: some services sell bundles of cards on top of the subscription, such as PassFacile, whose extra cards are «purchasable at any time».
- Free tier: useful to try, but with limits. Quardy lists the card as free for up to 50 customers; PassFacile lists a Free tier capped at 110 cards.
- Timed trial: every feature for a few days. Iterum gives 7 days with a payment card at activation; SMSHosting lists 14 days «with no card and no commitment».
- Pay-as-you-go costs: texts, WhatsApp or email may be charged separately; ask before counting on messages.
How to choose loyalty software in 5 checks
A one-week trial is worth more than any table, if you use it for these five checks, on a normal shift and with real people.
Write the rule
One sentence staff can repeat: what earns a stamp or a point, how many are needed, what the reward is. If the software cannot apply it as written, change the software, not the rule.
Sign up a real customer
On an iPhone and an Android phone, count the steps from QR code to card: app download, account, password, consents. Every extra step is a customer who says «next time».
Have two colleagues stamp
Two people, two devices, two shifts: check what the owner sees, how a mistake is undone and whether the same visit can be recorded twice.
Export the data
Download the customer list and read who controls the data, how long it is kept and how you answer someone who asks for deletion. The loyalty card GDPR guide sums up the rules.
Work out the first year’s cost
Subscription with VAT, locations, messages and reward costs: for the last item use the reward cost calculator. Then read the renewal and cancellation terms.
Is there free software to manage loyalty cards?
Yes, some loyalty software has a free tier, nearly always with a cap on customers or cards and some features left out. In Quardy’s pricing table, for example, the free tier on 12 October 2026 excluded push notifications, automatic notifications, data export and team management.
Before starting free, ask what happens when you pass the limit: do enrolled customers stay, do you have to start paying, or does the card stop working? Iterum has no free version: it offers a 7-day trial of the chosen plan, and you can design the card before paying.
Which app should you use to manage a loyalty card?
It depends on who has to use it. Quardy and PassFacile, for example, describe an iPhone and Android app the merchant uses to scan cards and run the programme. Iterum works in the browser: the «Al banco» counter app opens on a phone, tablet or computer, scans the card’s QR code or takes the code typed by hand, and the owner’s dashboard is a web page.
With Iterum, customers install nothing: they open the card from the QR code and, if they like, save it to their Wallet. The differences between a browser card, a Wallet pass and a native app are on the loyalty card without an app page; if you are looking for a customer loyalty app, the loyalty app for customers guide explains the no-download alternative.
Where Iterum fits
Iterum is a web card with a Wallet pass: the first type in the table. Every plan includes stamp or points cards, the «Al banco» staff app, a team with no user limit, a customer list with export, statistics, an activity log and privacy tools. Plans differ by new customers included each month, active cards and messages a month per location; total customers are unlimited on every plan.
It is not the right choice for everyone. If you want points calculated from the receipt or the balance printed on it, you need a till with a loyalty module: read the loyalty card POS integration guide. If you want cashback or gift cards, pick a service that offers them: Iterum does not. And if starting without spending matters most, some competitors have a free tier.
Iterum is built for businesses where someone at the counter confirms each visit: a restaurant, a beauty salon, a shop. An overview of fifty products, grouped by type, is in the guide to the best digital loyalty card apps.
Sources and method
Public pages read on 12 October 2026: Quardy, home and pricing; PassFacile, home and pricing (Italian); Tilby, customer features (Italian); SMSHosting, loyalty card (Italian). Quotes from Italian pages are our translations; prices, limits and features can change, so check them again before choosing.
We have not opened accounts with or tested the products named, and Iterum has no relationship with their makers. Iterum information describes the product as of 12 October 2026, from its public pages and its pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Iterum read receipt amounts?
- No. On a points card staff type the points into the «Al banco» app, according to the value you set; Iterum does not read receipts or payments and does not connect to the till.
- Does Iterum offer cashback or gift cards?
- No. Every Iterum plan offers stamp cards and points cards; cashback, tiers and gift cards are not among its features. If you need them, compare services that list them.
- Can I export the customer list from Iterum?
- Yes. On every plan the customer list has search and export, and the privacy tools handle customer requests, data export and retention.
- Does Iterum work with several locations?
- Yes: you can add locations to the same account, each at a separate cost, and customer messages are counted per location. For needs beyond the standard plans there is a contact for a quote.
- How does the Iterum free trial work?
- It lasts 7 days and requires a payment card at activation; you pay €0 today. Unless you cancel, the chosen plan continues; amount, VAT and renewal are shown before you confirm.
Find your sector.
These are demonstration previews made with the Iterum card catalog. Names, rewards and stamps are examples.