QR code loyalty cards
QR code loyalty cards, and what keeps them honest
A QR code loyalty card runs on two kinds of code. Your poster is the customer’s way in. Scanning it opens your card in the phone’s browser, where a new customer signs up and joins and a regular signs in if they need to, and a scan of the till poster also asks your team for a stamp. The code on the customer’s card works the other way round, letting your team open that card at the till to add stamps or use a reward.
Neither code adds a stamp on its own. A request from the poster waits for someone on your team to approve it, which is why a photo of your poster can’t fill cards on the other side of town.
What each code is for
The till poster
It says “Scan to collect your stamp” and sits where customers pay. A scan opens the card, joins it if needed and sends a stamp request to the till. If you’d rather a new customer’s first scan only joined them, that’s one setting.
The window poster
It says “Scan to join our loyalty card”. Put it on the door, in the window or on the tables so people can sign up while they wait. Stamps are still asked for at the till.
The code on the customer’s card
A QR code with the same code printed under it in three groups of four characters. Your team scans it, or types it when the camera won’t focus.
A tap tag, if you add one
This one isn’t a QR code. It’s an NFC tag at the counter: any sticker holding your till poster’s link, or a secure tag (NXP NTAG 424 DNA) that you set up in NextStamp. Customers tap it with their phone and their stamp request reaches your till, where your team approves it, just like a scan of the till poster. A secure tag also signs every tap with a counter NextStamp checks, so a tap can’t be made up, and one that has asked can’t ask again.
What a scan can and can’t do
| The scan | What it does | What it can’t do |
|---|---|---|
| A customer scans the till poster | Opens their card and asks the till for a stamp | Add a stamp without your team |
| A customer scans the window poster | Opens the card so they can join | Ask for a stamp from the street |
| Your team scans a customer’s card | Opens that customer on the till | Work for anyone not signed in to your till |
| Someone scans a photo of your poster | Sends a request your team can say no to | Stamp anything, and a replaced poster stops working at once |
What’s in a code, and what isn’t
The codes are links with a random reference in them. There’s no name, email or stamp count inside. A customer’s code does point to their card, though, so treat it like a card number: opening it doesn’t get anyone past the sign-in and team checks.
The till checks what it scans as well. Point it at a poster and it asks for the customer’s code instead. Stamps your team adds still follow the card’s limits per visit and per day, which you set in the card editor, so one stamp a visit is your choice rather than a fixed rule.
Putting the codes to work
- 1
Print both posters
Print them from the card’s page in NextStamp. Put the till poster at eye level where people pay.
- 2
Test it with your own phone
Scan the poster, join your own card and approve the request on the till. It shows the team exactly what customers will see.
- 3
Keep the torch handy
The till’s camera has a torch button for dim counters. If the camera can’t read a code at all, typing it always works.
Questions, answered
Do customers need a QR scanner app?
No. The camera app on current iPhones and Android phones reads QR codes by itself, and pointing it at the poster opens your card in the browser.
What is stored in the QR code?
A link with a random reference. There’s no name, email or stamp count in it. The reference tells your team which card it is, but it doesn’t let anyone else into the customer’s account.
What if someone shares a photo of our poster?
Scans from that photo only send requests, and your team can decline them. Replace the poster in NextStamp and the old code stops working straight away.
Can staff type the code instead of scanning?
Yes. The twelve characters under the QR code on the customer’s card can be typed into the till.
Does the till work with any camera?
The till uses the camera of whatever phone, tablet or laptop it runs on. If the browser can’t open the camera, the till offers the typed code instead.
Give them a little something
to come back for.
Make a card that feels like your business and put the poster up by the till.
Create your card