Buyer’s guide · for pub owners and managers
Pub loyalty card schemes: how to choose one your regulars will use
A pub loyalty card scheme gives guests a reason to come back: they collect stamps or points and unlock a reward. Loyalty cards for pubs come in four kinds: a paper stamp card, your own app, a wallet pass, or a QR card that opens in the guest’s phone browser. The right one is whichever your guests will use at a busy counter and your staff will keep running.
Written for the people who run pubs, by the team that runs Nabaperks launches. We sell one of the four, the no-app QR card, and this guide says where each one fits, ours included.
Written by the Nabaperks team · reviewed · Cancel renewal anytime after a short exit review
Venue QR scanned
Venue QR opens the card in the browser.
A pint on the house
Ready for staff to scan in the merchant app.
Should your pub run a loyalty scheme at all?
A loyalty scheme doesn't create demand. It gives the people already walking through your door a reason to choose you again sooner — so the honest test is whether you have returning faces to work with in the first place.
If your weekends are full and Tuesday to Thursday is thin, you have the raw material: a crowd that already likes the place, arriving on the nights you don't need the help. That gap is the opportunity, and it's the one thing a card can act on.
If you're quiet every night, or you're new enough that nobody has been in twice yet, a card is the wrong tool and any vendor telling you otherwise is selling. Fix the reason people aren't coming first — no stamp card manufactures a first visit.
For ways to give people a reason to come in on a quiet night, see our pub promotion ideas for a quiet Tuesday to Thursday.
Pub loyalty schemes compared: paper, app, wallet pass or QR
Nearly every pub loyalty card scheme you'll be pitched is one of four shapes. They fail in different places, and the right one depends far less on the feature list than on what your guests and your staff will genuinely do at a busy counter.
| Aspect | Paper stamp card | Your own pub app | Wallet pass | No-app QR card · ours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you set up first | Card artwork and a print order | An app build or vendor setup, plus listings in two app stores | A pass design on a pass platform, and an agreed way to stamp at the till | On a done-for-you launch, the Nabaperks team configures the card and rewards and posts your first counter posters |
| What your guest does | Carries a card and remembers to bring it back | Installs an app and makes an account before the first stamp | Adds a pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet | Scans the counter code; the card opens in the browser they already have |
| What your staff do | Stamp each card by hand, every visit, every shift | Whatever the app needs at the till; ask to see it on a busy night | Use the device and process the pass platform needs to add a stamp | Say one short line, and scan a reward in the Nabaperks app when it is used |
| Touches your till? | No | Depends on the vendor; ask before you sign | Depends on the platform; ask before you sign | No extra hardware. No POS or EPOS integration required. |
| What you're buying | Printing, reprinted every time you run out | A build, then upkeep across two app stores | A pass platform subscription | A done-for-you launch, then a subscription — nothing to build |
| What you learn | Nothing — no record survives the counter | A great deal — from the guests who actually install it | Some — installs and pushes, less about the visit itself | Visits, members and returning customers, plus a weekly digest by email |
| Where it breaks | Cards get lost, stamps get given twice, and a year on you still can't say whether it worked | The install ask lands mid-queue with people waiting behind, and guests can simply say no | Stamping still needs a device and an agreed process at the till, and the two wallet platforms don't behave alike | The code isn't displayed where people queue, or staff never mention it |
| Best when | You want something running this week and genuinely don't need to measure it | You have a large, frequent customer base and the budget to keep an app alive | Your guests already live in their wallet app and someone owns the setup | You want the smallest possible ask of a guest mid-queue, and you want the visits recorded |
Paper stamp card
- What you set up first
- Card artwork and a print order
- What your guest does
- Carries a card and remembers to bring it back
- What your staff do
- Stamp each card by hand, every visit, every shift
- Touches your till?
- No
- What you're buying
- Printing, reprinted every time you run out
- What you learn
- Nothing — no record survives the counter
- Where it breaks
- Cards get lost, stamps get given twice, and a year on you still can't say whether it worked
- Best when
- You want something running this week and genuinely don't need to measure it
Your own pub app
- What you set up first
- An app build or vendor setup, plus listings in two app stores
- What your guest does
- Installs an app and makes an account before the first stamp
- What your staff do
- Whatever the app needs at the till; ask to see it on a busy night
- Touches your till?
- Depends on the vendor; ask before you sign
- What you're buying
- A build, then upkeep across two app stores
- What you learn
- A great deal — from the guests who actually install it
- Where it breaks
- The install ask lands mid-queue with people waiting behind, and guests can simply say no
- Best when
- You have a large, frequent customer base and the budget to keep an app alive
Wallet pass
- What you set up first
- A pass design on a pass platform, and an agreed way to stamp at the till
- What your guest does
- Adds a pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet
- What your staff do
- Use the device and process the pass platform needs to add a stamp
- Touches your till?
- Depends on the platform; ask before you sign
- What you're buying
- A pass platform subscription
- What you learn
- Some — installs and pushes, less about the visit itself
- Where it breaks
- Stamping still needs a device and an agreed process at the till, and the two wallet platforms don't behave alike
- Best when
- Your guests already live in their wallet app and someone owns the setup
No-app QR card
Ours- What you set up first
- On a done-for-you launch, the Nabaperks team configures the card and rewards and posts your first counter posters
- What your guest does
- Scans the counter code; the card opens in the browser they already have
- What your staff do
- Say one short line, and scan a reward in the Nabaperks app when it is used
- Touches your till?
- No extra hardware. No POS or EPOS integration required.
- What you're buying
- A done-for-you launch, then a subscription — nothing to build
- What you learn
- Visits, members and returning customers, plus a weekly digest by email
- Where it breaks
- The code isn't displayed where people queue, or staff never mention it
- Best when
- You want the smallest possible ask of a guest mid-queue, and you want the visits recorded
Choosing between paper and QR? Our guide to paper stamp cards vs QR code loyalty cards compares them in detail, including what paper genuinely does better. If the no-app QR card is the one you are weighing, here is how a digital loyalty card works in a pub.
£299.99 launch, a free 28-day pilot from poster delivery, then £69.99 every 28 days.
Card required — cancel renewal anytime after a short exit review from your billing page. See full pricing
Do you need a pub loyalty app?
A pub loyalty app is one way to run a loyalty programme, and it asks the most of a guest: install the app and make an account before the first stamp. That ask lands at the counter, mid-queue, with people waiting behind.
An app earns its keep with a large, frequent customer base and the budget to run it across two app stores. If that isn't your pub, a no-app card asks less: guests scan the counter QR and the card opens in the browser they already have, with no app and no wallet pass. That's the option Nabaperks sells.
For how it runs day to day, read our guide to rewarding regulars without an app.
What it actually costs your staff
The subscription is the easy number. The one that decides whether a scheme survives its first busy Friday is what it asks of the person behind the bar.
- At the till
One scan by the guest, and one short line for staff to say. Nothing for staff to type, look up or remember about the guest.
- Every week after that
Keep the poster where people queue, and honour the rewards guests turn up with. That is the entire ongoing job.
- Up front
This is where most schemes quietly cost the most — picking rewards, building the card, chasing artwork and a print shop. On a done-for-you launch, the Nabaperks team does those steps instead of handing them to you.
A scheme that needs someone to run a report, chase a list or reconcile a spreadsheet creates recurring admin that is easy to defer. Judge any vendor on the till moment, not the feature list.
What changes at the counter
This is the part worth picturing before you sign anything, because it's the part that happens a hundred times a week.
A guest orders. The poster is already on the counter, where they're standing anyway.
Staff say one line — the same line every shift, so nobody has to improvise on a busy night.
The guest scans. The card opens in their browser; nothing to install, no account to make first.
The guest confirms the stamp on their phone. The visit is recorded, and they can see how close they are.
That's the whole floor process. If a vendor's version takes longer to explain than this one, you've learned something useful.
How pub loyalty schemes actually fail
Almost none of these are software problems — which is exactly why comparing feature lists doesn't protect you from them.
The code is never seen
It ends up on a table talker nobody reads, or behind the bar where only staff can reach it.
The fixPut it where people already stand still — the counter, at the moment they're waiting to pay.
Staff never mention it
When the line isn't agreed, everyone invents their own, and on a busy night they skip it entirely.
The fixOne short line, briefed once, identical for every shift.
The reward isn't worth the trip
A few percent off doesn't move anyone off the sofa on a wet Tuesday.
The fixMake it something a guest would mention to someone else — and keep your margin by drawing from a pool you set.
Nobody ever measures it
A paper card records nothing, so the scheme runs for a year on a feeling.
The fixPick something that records visits and returning customers, then actually look at it each week.
It rewards the nights already busy
A scheme stamping hardest on a packed Saturday is discounting trade you already had.
The fixPoint the reward at the quiet stretch you're actually trying to fill.
Need a reward worth the trip? Read the best loyalty ideas for pubs.
What to ask any loyalty vendor
Ask these of anyone you talk to, us included. The answers separate the products faster than a demo will.
Question 1
Does my guest have to install anything?
Every install is a place the queue breaks down.
Our answer
A browser-based loyalty card customers open from your QR code. No app, and no wallet pass.
Question 2
Does it touch my POS?
POS work turns a small decision into an IT project with a third supplier in the middle.
Our answer
No extra hardware. No POS or EPOS integration required. The till process stays a scan and one short line.
Question 3
Who sets it up — me, or you?
“Software access” and “a launched scheme” are very different purchases at a similar price.
Our answer
Instead of handing you empty software, the Nabaperks team does the launch. We handle the whole launch: venue and card configuration, a margin-safe mystery reward pool, and your first A4 counter-poster run — generated, printed and posted to your pub. Allow up to 14 calendar days for print and delivery.
Question 4
What will I actually be able to see?
If it can't show you returning customers, you can't tell whether any of it worked.
Our answer
A dashboard for visits, members, stamps and returning customers, plus a weekly digest of visits, regulars and redemptions by email.
Question 5
What does it cost once the trial ends?
The trial price is never the question. The twelfth month is.
Our answer
£299.99 done-for-you launch today. Allow up to 14 calendar days for print and delivery. Your 28-day platform pilot begins when your posters are delivered. Then £69.99 every 28 days. 13 payments totalling £909.87 in each 364-day billing year. Card required — cancel renewal anytime after a short exit review from your billing page.
Question 6
And what if it doesn't work?
Ask what a vendor stands behind — then ask, just as carefully, what they don't.
Our answer
First-Regular Guarantee: If your live card hasn't brought back a first regular by the end of your 28-day pilot, the platform pilot stays free until it does.
We do not guarantee midweek revenue or filled tables.
Your part: display the posters, honour the rewards, and give your staff a short brief.
Built for a strong weekend and a quieter middle
Built for single-site, owner-operated food-led pubs — the exact venues this offer was designed around.
Your pub is ready if…
- Single-site and owner-operated, or owner-led day-to-day
- Serves food on quiet midweek days too
- Visible weekend demand and a meaningful existing customer base
- One manager willing to own the launch and keep the QR counter materials displayed
- Wants the implementation done for you, not empty software access
We will say so if…
- Closed most Tuesdays to Thursdays, or no existing customer base yet
- Expects a guarantee of midweek revenue or filled tables — we never promise that
- Won't display the physical QR materials or brief the staff
- Needs multi-site rollout, bespoke agency creative, or POS/EPOS integration inside the standard setup
Quick answers for pub owners
Is a loyalty scheme worth it for an independent pub?
It can be, if you already have regulars and a quiet stretch to fill, such as a thin Tuesday to Thursday. A card rewards return visits; it does not create first visits. We do not guarantee midweek revenue or filled tables.
How long does it take to launch?
Allow up to 14 calendar days for print and delivery. Your 28-day platform pilot begins when your posters are delivered. We only onboard 5 new pubs a week so we can fully manage each launch and physically print the materials. Five is the number a human team can genuinely launch well in a week — if this week is full, your launch is booked into the next one.
I'm a pub customer. Can I join Nabaperks?
No. Nabaperks is a service for the people who run pubs. Customers use their pub's own card, which the pub sets up with Nabaperks. If a pub you visit uses it, scan the QR code on its counter and that pub's card opens in your phone's browser, with nothing to download.
More on rewards, cancelling and fit: read the full FAQ.
Go deeper on one question
Practical guides, each on a single decision you'll face once you've picked a shape.
- Reward regulars without an appA practical way to run pub loyalty when customers won't download another app: a browser card they open from your venue QR, with nothing to install.
- Best loyalty ideas for pubsFood-led loyalty card ideas for pubs: a short stamp cycle, a weighted mystery reward, birthday months and a referral loop.
- QR code loyalty cards vs paper stamp cards for pubsHow a QR code loyalty card works at a pub counter, and an honest comparison with paper stamp cards: cost, staff effort, records and when paper still wins.
- Pub promotion ideas for a quiet Tuesday to ThursdayTen pub promotion and marketing ideas for a quiet Tuesday to Thursday, each with what it costs you, where the margin goes and the staff time it takes.
The 28-Day First-Regular Launch
Built to encourage measurable return visits — never a promise of revenue or filled tables. £299.99 done-for-you launch today. Allow up to 14 calendar days for print and delivery. Your 28-day platform pilot begins when your posters are delivered. Then £69.99 every 28 days. 13 payments totalling £909.87 in each 364-day billing year.
Card required — cancel renewal anytime after a short exit review from your billing page.