How to create and use a digital loyalty card in Apple and Google Wallet:2026 business guide

Wallet marketing means using Apple Wallet and Google Wallet as a customer retention channel, with no app to download. Why use wallet marketing? Because replacing a plastic or paper card with a digital loyalty card makes your program more visible, easier to activate, and easier to measure. Learn how to connect, create, distribute, run, and track a wallet loyalty card in Google Wallet and Apple Wallet. Loyalty cards made easy.

Vincent

August 12, 20267 min read

Summary:

To create a digital loyalty card for your business and get it into customers' wallets, you need to:

connect your wallet passes to your CRM, ERP, POS system, or loyalty platform
create a digital loyalty card with your brand design, your customer data, and the right access
share the card by QR code, link, email, SMS, or receipt
re-engage your customers with push notifications, location-based campaigns, and real-time updates
track your loyalty KPIs to measure wallet adds, coupon usage, purchase frequency, and revenue generated

Step 1: Connect your wallet passes to your software

Your wallet loyalty card, stored in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, talks to your business software. The connection syncs customer data, so the card never goes stale or loses touch with what's really happening in your loyalty program.

You can connect wallet marketing to the tools you already use: CRM, ERP, POS system, loyalty platform, ticketing software, email tool, or marketing automation platform. The goal: your business tool keeps the customer data, and the wallet turns it into a card, a notification, or a mobile campaign.

Your CRM or POS system syncs automatically with the card and gives customers and your marketing team data they can use right away. Customer status, points, rewards balance, perk history, expiration date, stage in the loyalty program: all of it can show up on the card. The payoff: a real relationship between your brand and your customers.

Your CRM or loyalty team sets the business rules for the connection. Your IT team or integrator handles the technical side. This helps you avoid a common mistake: treating the wallet card as just a graphic. A good digital loyalty card must combine design, data, the customer journey, and performance tracking.

Step 2: Create your digital loyalty card

A digital loyalty card has to be easy to understand. In a few seconds, customers should see what they have, what they can use, and why they should come back to your store.

Your brand design

Your card works best when it picks up your brand's look without crowding the screen. Every element should serve a purpose. The logo builds trust, the colors identify your brand, the image catches the eye, short text points to the next action, and a clear hierarchy prevents confusion. If your wallet platform supports it, consider a dynamic back of the card too. The front catches the eye. The back helps customers take action.

Customer information

A loyalty card stored in a wallet can show the customer's name, loyalty number, a QR code or barcode, points balance, rewards balance, status, expiration date, available perks, or useful links.

With eldo wallet, your brand can create a loyalty card that works in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Customers add it from a QR code or a link, then see their points, rewards balance, status, or perks right on their smartphone. You then connect the card to your CRM, POS system, or loyalty platform. With every update, the wallet reflects the latest customer data: points earned, a new coupon, a status change, or a personalized offer.

Getting the card into customers' hands is a key step toward a successful wallet marketing strategy. For customers, the experience should be instant. With one tap on a link or a scan of a QR code, they add the card straight to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. They don't need to download a dedicated app.

Your business can distribute the card with a QR code at checkout, a link on your online store, an email, an SMS, a receipt, a confirmation page, a customer account, in-store signage, or a marketing campaign.

Customers need to find their card at the right moment, and it should be easy to reach on their phone. That means covering both major ecosystems: an Apple Wallet loyalty card for iPhone users and a Google Wallet loyalty card for Android users. An effective wallet loyalty platform has to support both.

Step 4: Re-engage your customers

Adding a loyalty card on iPhone or Android is the start of your program, not the end. The real value of wallet marketing comes after the card is added, through ongoing engagement.

A wallet push notification can surface a perk at the right moment. It can flag an available coupon, remind customers of their rewards balance, warn of an expiration, or announce a local promotion. Keep the message short and give customers a reason to act. A good notification might say a reward is waiting in store, a coupon expires tonight, they've just reached a new status, or an offer is available at a nearby store.

Geofencing triggers a message tied to a specific area. Is your customer near one of your stores? You can send a notification with an offer, a reminder, or an available perk. It's a strong driver of store traffic, connecting the phone, the place, and the moment.

The dynamic card also plays a role in customer retention. It updates in real time. Customers see their points, rewards balance, status, or perks change as they buy. The loyalty program becomes visible. Customers don't have to wait for an email or a receipt, or log in to their account. They check it themselves in their wallet, whenever they want.

Step 5: Track your loyalty KPIs

If you don't measure your wallet loyalty program, you can't tell whether your card drives activation, repeat purchases, or revenue.

KPIs (key performance indicators) measure how customers use your wallet loyalty card, how engaged they are, and the business impact of your campaigns.

A loyalty card doesn't just sit on the customer's phone. It should also send data back to your dashboards. Your dashboards then help your teams answer three questions. How many customers add the card? How many interact with it? How many come back or buy because of the wallet?

KPI	Description	Goal
Cards generated and sent	Total number of loyalty cards created on the platform and distributed to customers	Track the rollout of your digital loyalty program
Cards added (number and rate)	Number of cards saved to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and the percentage of cards sent	Measure loyalty card adoption and how well the add-to-wallet flow works
Cards deleted (number and rate)	Number of cards removed from the wallet, and the percentage of cards added	Measure how long cards stay on the phone and spot a drop in engagement
Apple Wallet / Google Wallet split	Share of added cards by ecosystem, Apple or Android	Understand usage and adjust marketing or technical actions
Notifications sent	Total number of push notifications sent to cardholders	Measure communication activity through the wallet
Location-based notifications sent	Number of notifications triggered by proximity to a store or point of interest	Assess how much you use location-based campaigns to drive traffic
Card design changes made	Number of design updates applied to loyalty cards	Measure how much you use the card as a channel for communication and promotions
Coupons added (number and rate)	Number of coupons added to cards, and the percentage of coupons distributed	Measure adoption of promotional offers
Active coupons	Number of coupons still valid and available on cards	Track how many offers customers can still use
Coupons redeemed (number and rate)	Number of coupons used, and the percentage of coupons distributed or added	Assess how well offers and wallet campaigns drive sales
Purchase frequency (wallet customers)	Average number of purchases by customers who added their card to the wallet	Measure the wallet's impact on customer retention and repeat purchases
Average order value (wallet customers)	Average amount spent by customers who added their card to the wallet	Assess the value of wallet customers
Customers reactivated (number and rate)	Number of inactive customers who came back after a wallet message, and their share of the customers targeted	Measure how well the wallet re-engages inactive customers
Revenue generated by wallet campaigns	Revenue attributed to wallet marketing campaigns and actions	Tie wallet actions to sales results and ROI

The 5 main KPI categories

Category	Main KPIs	Goal
Adoption	Cards generated and sent, cards added (number and rate)	Measure how well customers adopt your program
Engagement	Cards deleted (number and rate), Apple Wallet / Google Wallet split	Track lasting card usage and cardholder engagement
Marketing activation	Push notifications, location-based notifications, design changes	Manage the communication you run through the wallet
Offer performance	Coupons added, active coupons, coupons redeemed	Assess how well promotional campaigns and perks perform
Business impact	Purchase frequency, average order value, customers reactivated, revenue generated	Measure the wallet's contribution to customer retention, repeat purchases, and sales results

How long does it take to roll out a wallet loyalty card for your business?

The timeline depends on how deeply you integrate. A first card distributed by link or QR code can be ready quickly. A full connection to your CRM, POS system, or ERP takes more scoping, and so more time.

For a simple card, with card design, setup, and QR code distribution, a business can launch a first program in a few hours to a few days. This works well if you want to test fast, train your teams, and measure the first wallet adds.

For a card connected to your CRM or POS system, plan a more structured project that takes 2 to 6 weeks. You need to define the business rules, map the data, run technical tests, set the update rules, validate the marketing scenarios, and track KPIs after launch.

FAQ: how wallet passes work

Marketing should lead the project, because it knows the offers, the messages, and the customer journey. The CRM or loyalty team sets the data rules. IT or your integrator connects the wallet to the CRM, POS system, or ERP.

You don't need a connection to launch a first card by link or QR code. It becomes useful as soon as you want to automate points, rewards balance, customer status, coupons, or notifications.

No. To add a loyalty card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, the card must use a format those wallets support. On the business side, you need a platform that can generate cards for both wallets.

No. A business doesn't need to build its own wallet. It can use a platform like eldo wallet to create, distribute, update, and connect its loyalty cards to its business tools, without launching a full app project.

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