The figures and scenarios in this article are illustrative: adapt them to your margins and your own data. They are not EasyFid customer results. See how to measure your results.
A loyal customer pulls out their phone at your register. Do they open an app where your shop is one card among fifty other businesses, squeezed between the dry cleaner down the street and a sushi chain? Or do they open their Wallet, where your card shows up on its own, with your name and your colors? That question sums up the whole debate between an aggregated loyalty app (Fidme-style) and a Wallet loyalty card — two very different ways to digitize a loyalty program.
Both approaches start from the same observation: the paper stamp card gets lost, forgotten, crumpled. But they solve the problem with opposite logic. One pools every shop into a single third-party app. The other puts your card straight into the phone's native digital wallet, already present on every iPhone and every Android device. This comparison breaks down the mechanics, the real advantages and the real limits of each option, without the marketing spin.
Table of contents
The aggregated loyalty app: how it works
A Fidme-style app works like a directory: the customer downloads a single app, creates an account, then adds every loyalty-friendly shop they visit as a virtual card inside that same app. The appeal for the customer is real at first — one place to find every loyalty card, bakery, hairdresser and produce stand included.
The problem shows up quickly on the shop's side: your card becomes one line among dozens of others, listed alphabetically or by last visit. No color, no logo highlighted, nothing that reminds the customer of your shop. They have to remember to open that app, then search for your shop in a list, before they can even show their card at the register. That friction, repeated at every visit, wears down actual use of the program.
The Wallet card with your name: the other approach
The Wallet loyalty card follows the opposite logic: instead of asking the customer to download a new app, it uses Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, already installed by default on every smartphone. You create the customer's card in the EasyFid app in a few seconds, they scan their own QR code shown on your screen, and it's added to their Wallet within seconds, staying visible and accessible right from their app list — no third-party app to open.
With EasyFid, this card carries your shop's name and logo, and its points balance updates live, in both Apple Wallet and Google Wallet: as soon as you credit a visit at the register, the customer sees their progress change without refreshing anything. There's nothing to install, nothing extra cluttering their app list — just a card, yours, sitting next to their boarding pass.
Practical tip: if you're testing both approaches, watch the return-visit rate rather than the number of sign-ups. An aggregated app often generates plenty of account creations followed by few actual visits, because the customer forgets about the app between visits.
Head to head: what each option actually gives you
On paper, both solutions get rid of the cardboard punch card. But their effect on your business diverges sharply:
- Brand visibility: in an aggregated app, your shop is buried among dozens of competing or unrelated businesses. In the Wallet, your card has the screen to itself, with your logo and your colors.
- Friction: an aggregated app requires a download, an account creation, then a search for your shop at every visit. The Wallet card requires one scan, then nothing: it's already there next time.
- An always-current balance: a Wallet card keeps the points balance accurate every time the customer opens it, with no email or paid SMS involved and nothing to send. An aggregated app tends to send generic notifications instead, often disabled out of fatigue after a few weeks.
- Control over your data: with a third-party app, your customer data flows through a platform that also hosts your competitors. With an EasyFid Wallet card, your visit and points history stays in your own merchant account.
- Cost and model: aggregated apps often rely on apparent free access or paid placements to stand out from the crowd. An EasyFid Wallet card runs on a clear subscription, with no hidden cost to be visible.
Customer adoption, the real battleground
A loyalty program nobody uses is worthless, whatever its point scale looks like. And adoption depends directly on the friction felt at the counter. Asking a customer in a hurry to download a new app to save a couple of euros on their next order is a barrier many refuse on the spot — especially if they then have to remember yet another login and password.
The Wallet card removes that step: once you've created the customer's card in the app, adding it to their phone takes about twenty seconds, using the phone's native camera to scan their own QR code. After that, the card stays as accessible as a bank card — one tap from the app list, no digging through a menu. For more on the concrete mechanics of a program that actually works (point scale, reward thresholds, follow-up), see our guide to setting up a merchant loyalty program.
Practical tip: always describe your Wallet card as "already on your phone" rather than "an app to download." The wording changes how the customer perceives it and lowers the refusal rate at the register.
Which solution to choose for your shop
A Fidme-style aggregated app can make sense if you're only after extra visibility among users already registered on the platform, without investing in your own tool. But it makes you dependent on a third party for your customer relationship, with a diluted brand identity and little control over your data.
A Wallet card with your name, on the other hand, belongs to you: it's your logo, your point scale, your own visit and reward figures. It's set up in a few minutes, with no extra equipment — a smartphone is enough on both sides of the counter. For a local business that wants to build a real, lasting and recognizable loyalty relationship, it's the more coherent approach. See the full breakdown of plans and competing solutions on our loyalty card comparison page.
- Starter at €9.99/month: up to 500 customers and 1 user, ideal to start out on your own.
- Pro at €19.99/month: up to 1,500 customers with 3 staff accounts plus the admin account, for a team.
See the full plan details on the EasyFid pricing page before you decide.
A Card With Your Name, Not Lost in an App
EasyFid puts your loyalty card straight into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, with points updated live.
App Store → Google Play →Frequently asked questions about Wallet cards and loyalty apps
Are Fidme and aggregated apps free for the shop owner?
Models vary between aggregated platforms, often with paid options to improve your card's visibility against the other businesses listed. An EasyFid Wallet card runs on a clear subscription, with no hidden cost to be seen.
Does the customer need to install an app to use an EasyFid Wallet card?
No. Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are already present by default on every iPhone and every Android phone. Once you've created the customer in the EasyFid app, they scan their own QR code and their card is added directly, with no third-party app to download.
Do the points really update live in the Wallet?
Yes. With EasyFid, as soon as a visit or an amount is credited at the register, the points balance shown in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet updates automatically, with no action needed from the customer.
Is EasyFid available on Android?
Yes. EasyFid is available on both the App Store and Google Play, with the same live Wallet integration on both.
Which option should a small shop just starting with loyalty pick?
A Wallet card with your name is generally the better fit: it needs less equipment than a plastic card, gets better adoption than a third-party app to download, and keeps your brand visible every time the customer opens their wallet.