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Case study · Specialty coffeeA design-led specialty coffee shop in Dubai wanted loyalty that matched its aesthetic and its pace at the counter. The KAF launched a Wally Stampcard with one-tap NFC stamping: 45% more repeat visits, stamping twice as fast, and 91% of cards still in the wallet.
The KAF is a specialty coffee shop in Dubai with a strong point of view on design. Its paper punch card was on-brand but slow: staff had to find it, punch it and hand it back while a queue formed, and most cards disappeared before the free drink was ever claimed. The team wanted loyalty that kept the counter moving and looked like it belonged to The KAF.
The answer was a Wally Stampcard with a near-black pass, The KAF wordmark and a seven-plus-one stamp grid. Customers scan a QR code once and the card sits in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. From then on, they tap their phone on the reader at the till and the stamp appears instantly.
Because the pass is a wallet credential and not an app, it stays installed. The KAF now sees which customers are regulars versus first-timers, how often they return and how many rewards are redeemed, and it has a push channel to announce new drops and seasonal drinks.
A customer scans the QR code at the counter and adds The KAF card to their wallet. It takes a few seconds and asks for nothing else.
On each visit, the customer holds their phone to the Wally NFC reader. The stamp lands on the card while the coffee is being made.
The seven numbered slots fill with ticks and the gift slot unlocks the free drink. Redemption is another tap.
The KAF pushes short notifications for new beans, seasonal menus and events to everyone holding the card.
Figures reported by The KAF after launch, compared with the previous programme.
Increase in return visits from card holders compared with the paper punch card period.
An NFC tap replaces finding, punching and handing back a paper card during the morning rush.
Share of cards still in the customer's wallet months after being added. Paper cards rarely survive a week.
Baristas will not promote a programme that slows them down. Because a tap is faster than a punch, staff push the card to every customer.
A pass that looks like the shop earns a permanent place in the wallet. The 91% retention rate is as much about the artwork as the reward.
Seven stamps to a free drink is reachable within a fortnight for a regular. Frequent, visible progress keeps the card top of mind.
The member name shows at every tap, so staff greet regulars by name. Customers say that, not the free coffee, is why they keep coming back.
“Our regulars just tap their phone. Stamps and rewards live right in the wallet. It fits The KAF experience perfectly.”
Five decisions from the The KAF programme that transfer to any specialty coffee operator.
Choose NFC tap stamping if your counter is busy. Scanning a QR on every visit is slower than a punch card.
Invest in the pass artwork. It sits next to the customer's bank cards and should look like it belongs there.
Keep the stamp count short for low-ticket, high-frequency purchases like coffee.
Use push notifications for product news, not just discounts. New drops bring specialty coffee regulars in.
Track redemption rate as your headline metric. A rising rate means the habit is forming.
No. The card sits in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. The customer holds their phone to the NFC reader and the stamp is added; the pass updates on its own.
The KAF reports stamping is twice as fast. A tap takes under a second, versus finding, punching and returning a paper card.
Yes. The KAF's pass uses its own wordmark, colours and stamp icons. Wally passes carry full custom artwork on both Apple and Google Wallet.
The KAF uses seven stamps plus a reward slot. For a daily-coffee habit, seven to nine stamps keeps the reward reachable within a couple of weeks.
A Wally account, your pass design and an NFC reader at the counter. Most cafés go live within days.
A Dubai kunafa brand since 1987 moved from paper punch cards to a wallet stamp card across two branches: 3x repeat visits, 40% more revenue and 92% engagement.
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Pick too many stamps and customers give up before the first reward; too few and you're discounting visits you'd get anyway. The research has a clear answer: match the count to visit frequency, give a head start (it nearly doubled completion in a famous car wash study), keep progress visible, and make the reward worth about 10% back. Here's the math, and how a wallet stamp card keeps it working.
Read articleTell us about your business and we will show you the Wally Stampcard setup that fits, with your own artwork in the wallet.