Café loyalty · United Kingdom
Loyalty app for UK cafés: your name on the app
Paper stamp cards get lost. Shared stamp-marketplace apps put your café on the same screen as every other coffee shop nearby. Smart Loyalty builds your café's own branded loyalty app for iPhone and Android. Customers tap their phone on an NFC stamp at the counter to collect, you set the rewards, and the customer list stays with you.
- Your café's name, logo and colours on the App Store and Google Play
- A physical NFC stamp for the counter, included in setup: one tap and the stamp is added
- For UK cafés, coffee shops and multi-site operators
- Setup £249 + VAT, then from £39/mo + VAT
A café loyalty programme that stays under your brand
You don't need another listing in someone else's app. You need your regulars coming back to you, and a simple way to thank them when they do.
| The problem | What Smart Loyalty does |
|---|---|
| Paper cards get lost in coats and bags, or end up half-stamped in a drawer | Stamps live on the customer's phone, inside your app |
| Stamping cards by hand slows a busy coffee queue | One NFC tap on the counter and the stamp is added |
| Marketplace apps show your café beside competitors | Customers open your app and see your rewards only |
| Your customer list sits on someone else's platform | The list stays with your business, not in a shared directory |
Loyalty app for cafés: own brand vs stamp marketplace
There are three common ways to run a digital stamp card: your own app, a card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, or a place in a shared loyalty app. Each has a fair case. Here's how they compare where it matters for a café.
| Your own app (Smart Loyalty) | Wallet card (Apple / Google Wallet) | Marketplace app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the customer installs | Your café's app | Nothing extra; the card is saved to the phone's wallet | The platform's app |
| Whose name they see | Yours, from the App Store listing down | Yours on the card, inside Apple's or Google's wallet | The platform's, with your café as one listing |
| How a stamp is added | Customer taps their phone on the NFC stamp; no till integration needed | Usually a scan of the card's barcode, so check what your till needs | Varies by provider |
| Messages and customer data | Push notifications from your own app; the list stays with you | Varies by provider | Usually through the platform's app |
The honest trade-off: with your own app, customers have to download it. A wallet card needs no download, and a marketplace app can help new people find you. If you have regulars who come in most days and you want to reach them under your own name, with no rival offers one tap away, your own app is the stronger long-term choice.
Read the full comparison: café loyalty app vs wallet card vs marketplace.
How a digital loyalty card works in a café
- We brand your app. Your logo, colours and reward, set up for the App Store and Google Play in your business's name. For the iPhone version, Apple requires your own Apple Developer account. If you don't have one, we guide you through it.
- The stamp pack arrives. We post it to your UK address as part of the £249 setup: a physical NFC stamp for the counter, a QR code display customers scan to download your app, and a point-of-sale welcome pack so your team can get started.
- Customers tap to stamp. They open your app and tap their phone on the stamp. No paper cards, nothing to print or lose, and staff don't need to scan anything.
- You reward your regulars. A free coffee on the tenth stamp, or whatever reward suits your café. You decide, and you can send push notifications to bring people back.
Straightforward pricing for café loyalty
All prices are in pounds sterling, plus VAT.
Paying yearly costs the same as 11 months, so you get one month free. The Apple Developer account is separate from our pricing: Apple charges its own annual fee for it. You can compare every feature on the pricing page.
Coffee shop loyalty app for the UK, built for how you actually run
- Single-site independents usually start on Basic: one café, one stamp card, your own app.
- Café groups with more than one site usually choose Pro. Customers can collect on one card across all your sites, or each site can run its own card.
- Push notifications let you remind regulars about a reward or a new offer from your own app.
- A console shows stamps, rewards and which customers keep coming back.
- Customers can ask to have their personal data removed, and their details aren't shared with other businesses.
- Questions before or after you sign up go to hello@smartloyalty.ie.
Smart Loyalty is a product of Think X Intelligent Systems LTD, a software company based in Ireland. See how it works step by step.
Café loyalty programme FAQs
Is Smart Loyalty an app or a wallet card?
An app. Your café gets its own branded loyalty app on iOS and Android, with NFC tap-to-stamp at the counter. The stamp card lives inside your app, not in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
Do customers need to download an app?
Yes. Customers download your café's app from the App Store or Google Play. Setup includes a QR code display they can scan at the counter to get the download link.
How do customers collect stamps?
By NFC tap. Setup includes a physical NFC stamp for your counter. Customers open your app and tap their phone on it to collect a stamp, even when the queue is busy. The QR code display is only for downloading the app, not for stamping.
How is this different from a stamp-marketplace app?
Marketplace apps hold loyalty cards for many businesses in one place, so customers can browse other cafés from the same screen. Smart Loyalty is own-brand only: customers download your app, and your customer list isn't put in a shared directory.
How much does it cost in the UK?
A one-off setup fee of £249 + VAT. Then Basic is £39 a month + VAT (or £429 a year) for one location, and Pro is £49 a month + VAT (or £539 a year) for more than one. Enterprise is priced on application.
What do I need for the iPhone version?
Your own Apple Developer account. Apple requires it to list your app on the App Store under your name and charges an annual fee for it. If you don't have one, we guide you through setting it up.
How long does it take to go live?
We handle the branding, store listing support and the stamp pack. The timing depends on App Store and Google Play review, and on whether you already have an Apple Developer account.
Can I use it across more than one café?
Yes, on Pro or Enterprise. Customers can collect on one card across all your sites, or each site can have its own card.
Where do I book a demo?
Book a free demo at https://smartloyalty.uk/own-brand/ or email hello@smartloyalty.ie.
More questions? See our UK FAQs.
See own-brand café loyalty on your counter
Book a free demo. We'll show you the app, the NFC stamp and how a tap works at the counter, and help you decide whether Basic or Pro suits your café.
- Setup £249 + VAT, then from £39/mo + VAT
- Your name on the app, not a stamp marketplace
- hello@smartloyalty.ie
In Ireland? See Smart Loyalty for Irish cafés.