Loyalty app alternative: compare digital wallet cards vs custom apps vs paper punch cards

Use this table to weigh launch speed, cost, and how simple the program is to run day to day—especially for small teams without a big IT department.

Decision criteria	Sharaftona wallet-pass SaaS	Typical custom app / paper model
Merchant onboarding time	No-code setup in hours or a few days	Usually weeks or months for app delivery
Customer activation friction	Scan QR and save pass to phone wallet	App download, account setup, or physical card
Branch-level operations	Shared rules with scanner roles per branch	Often fragmented across tools or manual workflows
Campaign execution	Pass updates, pushes, segmentation from CRM	Extra tools or higher messaging cost
Best fit	SMB merchants such as cafes, barber shops, car wash, pet shops, and multi-branch stores	Teams with large app budgets or basic card needs

General market comparison for planning purposes. Feature depth and pricing vary by vendor and region.