Short answer: a customer loyalty app is a program that replaces the paper card: it counts each customer's visits or spend, tells them when they've earned a reward and shows you who comes back and who doesn't. For a bar, a café, a barbershop or a neighbourhood shop, the simplest option today is a card in the phone's wallet (Apple Wallet or Google Wallet), which the customer saves by scanning a QR code. That's what Rondafy does.
What is a customer loyalty app
It's a tool to reward customers who come back. It has two parts: what the customer sees (their card, their stamps or points and their rewards) and what you see (a dashboard to add stamps, redeem rewards, send notifications and look at the data). When people search for "loyalty app", "loyalty software" or "loyalty platform" they usually mean the same thing in different words: a system that brings the customer back and lets you know whether they do. (If what you're looking for is a shared card for several shops in an area, that's a different model: we explain it in loyalty platform for local retail.)
What really varies from one tool to another is where the customer keeps their card. There are three options and they ask very different things of the customer:
| Your own business app | Multi-business app | Card in Apple or Google Wallet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the customer does | Finds your app, downloads it and creates an account | Downloads the platform's app and looks for your business | Scans a QR code and taps "Add"; installs nothing |
| Where they see it | In your app, if they haven't deleted it | In the app, alongside other businesses | In the phone's wallet, next to their bank cards |
| Messages | App notifications | Platform notifications | Lock-screen notifications from the card |
| Your brand | All yours | Shared with the platform | Your logo, your colours and your reward |
| Typical cost | Custom development and maintenance | Monthly fee | Monthly fee |
| Best for | Large chains with many loyal customers | Businesses that want to appear in a directory | Shops and local businesses that want something quick |
Rondafy is in the third column. Your customer downloads nothing and neither do you: the dashboard opens in the browser on your phone, tablet or computer. If you want to see what it looks like, this is a loyalty card in Apple and Google Wallet.
What good loyalty software for a shop should do
Before looking at prices, check that the tool covers the basics. This is the list we'd use if we had a shop:
- Sign-up in seconds. If signing up means downloading something or filling in a long form, most people won't do it in the queue at the till. A QR code and a button is ideal.
- Quick stamping. Your team must be able to add a stamp or some points in a few seconds, with the phone they already have, and each person with their own access.
- The type of reward that suits you. Stamps if the ticket is similar on every visit; points if it varies a lot; passes if you sell session packs; a gift card if you want people to give you as a present. Better still if you can run several at once.
- Notifications that send themselves. "1 stamp to go", birthdays or a message to anyone who hasn't come in for weeks. That's what stops the card being forgotten.
- Data you can understand. How many customers you have, how many come back, who's close to a reward and who has left.
- Your brand. Your own logo, colours and reward, and design changes that also reach cards already saved.
- No cheating. Only your business adds stamps, not a pen.
- Little personal data. The less data you ask for, the easier it is to comply with the GDPR and the more people sign up. With Rondafy the customer can save the card without giving a name, email or phone number.
- Several venues and several staff members without paying a licence per person.
- No commitment and a trial. So you can test it with real customers before paying and cancel whenever you want.
If you want the long version, with metrics and programme types, read the customer loyalty programme guide.
How Rondafy works, step by step
They scan the QR code on your counter, tap "Add to Apple Wallet" or "Add to Google Wallet" and they have the card. Every time they buy, they see their stamps or points add up, and they get notifications on their lock screen.
At checkout, they scan the customer's card from the dashboard on a phone, tablet or computer. The stamp or points appear instantly. Each staff member can have their own access, and team mode lets them scan without seeing statistics or settings.
From the dashboard you design the card, choose rewards, schedule notifications, see customer and visit statistics and export your activity to CSV.
You'll find the full walkthrough, with screenshots, in how Rondafy works.
Which loyalty programmes you can run
Both plans include every card type. You can start with one and add another when you need it:
| Card | What it rewards | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Digital stamp card | Visits: one stamp per purchase; a reward when it's complete | Cafés, bars, bakeries, barbershops |
| Points card | Spend: every X € adds points that are redeemed for rewards | Restaurants, shops, businesses with very different tickets |
| VIP tiers (Pro plan) | Your biggest spenders: Bronze, Silver, Gold… with perks per tier | Businesses with very loyal, high-spending customers |
| Prepaid pass card | Packs paid in advance: the customer sees how many sessions are left | Beauty, hair salons, gyms, physiotherapy |
| Gift card | A balance to give to someone else | Any business, especially at Christmas and on special dates |
| Prepaid | A balance the customer tops up and spends over time | Businesses with daily customers |
If you don't know where to start, start with stamps: it's the easiest to explain at the counter. We help you decide in how many stamps to use and reward ideas by type of business.
Included features
- Card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, no app for the customer, and unlimited customers.
- Sign-up by QR code, with posters ready to print, and an optional "scratch & win" game at sign-up.
- Automatic notifications: 1 stamp to go, reward ready, birthdays, customers who stop coming and a Google review request; plus manual and group notifications.
- A notification when they pass near your venue, depending on each customer's phone and settings.
- Design with your logo, colours, background photo and your own stamp icon.
- Statistics on customers, visits, repeat rate and redemptions, and export to CSV.
- Several venues with the same card (€10 a month per extra venue).
- Staff: 3 per venue on Standard and unlimited on Pro.
- Pro only: VIP tiers, up to 3 different stamp cards in the same venue, up to 3 different businesses in the same account, and we set up the card for you.
About the POS: to get started you don't need to connect anything to your till: stamps are added by scanning the customer's card. The Pro plan includes the POS connection so stamps or points are added automatically at checkout; if it's essential for you, ask us first whether your POS is compatible.
Loyalty app by type of shop
The same tool is set up differently depending on how often your customer comes back and how much they spend. Some examples of how it's usually done (adjust them to your numbers):
- Café or bar: a stamp card with a free coffee or beer every 8–10 visits. See loyalty card for cafés and for bars.
- Restaurant: points by amount, because a table of two and a table of eight don't spend the same. See restaurants.
- Barbershop or hair salon: stamps per service (5–6 cuts) and a reminder to anyone who goes past their usual date. See barbershops and hair salons.
- Beauty salon or gym: session passes, and stamps for one-off treatments. See beauty salons and gyms.
- Bakery or ice-cream shop: stamps with a small, frequent reward; for the ice-cream shop, a notification when you reopen for the season. See bakeries and ice-cream shops.
You'll find them all in loyalty cards by sector.
How much a loyalty app costs
The prices we've seen on the websites of tools used in Spain range from free plans with limits to about €50 a month per venue; a custom-built app costs considerably more, because it has to be developed and maintained. We compare them tool by tool in the best loyalty apps in Spain (in Spanish) and explain what each price range includes in how much a digital loyalty card costs.
| Rondafy | Monthly | Yearly | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | €24.99 | €249.90 | A business that wants every card type, notifications and statistics |
| Pro | €39.99 | €399.90 | The same, plus VIP tiers, unlimited staff, several stamp cards and several businesses in the same account |
Prices excl. VAT (21% is added in Spain). Each extra venue is €10 a month on both plans. 14-day free trial and no commitment. There's no permanent free plan, but designing your card is free and doesn't require an account. Details in plans and pricing.
To run the numbers yourself: the Standard plan works out at about €0.83 a day excl. VAT. If a reward costs you €1 (a coffee, for example), the card only needs to bring you a few extra visits a month to cover it; if it doesn't, you'll see it in your statistics and you can cancel.
How to get started in a day
- Design your card in design your card: logo, colours, reward and number of stamps. You get a test card on your phone.
- Start the 14-day trial in plans. Nothing is charged until day 15.
- Print the poster with your QR code and put it next to the till.
- Mention it at checkout: "Shall I put the stamp card on your phone? Just scan this QR code." That's what gets the most sign-ups.
- Check your data after two weeks: how many have signed up and how many have come back.
When Rondafy isn't for you
We'd rather tell you up front: if you need it to work without internet at the venue, if you want your own app with your name in the App Store, if you're looking for a booking or online ordering system, or if only a free tool will do, there are better options for you (the comparison, in Spanish, shows which have a free plan). And if your customers are mostly elderly and don't use smartphones, the paper card may still make sense.
