Start with how your customers buy
Pick the card type before the app. If people come often and spend about the same, like coffee or bread, a stamp card is the easiest to explain. If baskets vary, points are fairer. Salons and studios that sell services often do better with a membership or a pack of visits, and a prepaid card suits places where regulars like to pay ahead. A good app offers several types, so you can change your mind without starting again.
Make sure customers don’t need to download an app
Every extra step loses people at the counter. The simplest systems let a customer scan a QR code or tap an NFC chip, type a name and email, and keep the card on their phone straight away, on iPhone and Android. If a customer has to find, download and register a separate app, expect far fewer sign-ups.
Check how fast it is at the counter
Ask to see what your staff will do on a busy morning. It should be one scan and one tap, on a phone you already own, with no special hardware. Look for cashier accounts that can only scan and redeem, so your team never sees settings or customer exports, and for a counter that keeps working when the connection drops.
Look at what brings people back
A card alone records visits; messages and offers are what bring people back. Check that you can send a short message with a time-limited offer, choose who receives it, limit promotions to customers who agreed to them, and set quiet hours so nobody is woken at night. Win-back messages for people who haven’t visited in a month are often the most useful.
Compare the real monthly cost
Add up the subscription, extra locations, staff seats and any hardware. Many international tools bill in euro or dollars, so check the dram amount at today’s exchange rate. Make sure there is no commission on what customers pay you, and that you can pay monthly and cancel any time. Then add the cost of the rewards themselves, at what they cost you rather than their menu price.
Keep reviews honest
Many loyalty apps also ask for Google reviews. Google’s rules do not allow rewards for reviews or only inviting happy customers to post. Choose a tool that gives every customer the same review link and sends complaints to you privately, without tying rewards to reviews.
Questions to ask before you sign
Can I export my customer list? Can balances and gift cards be kept in Armenian dram? Can my card name, reward and messages be written in Armenian? Is there a free trial without card details? What happens to my customers’ cards if I stop paying? Clear answers to these tell you more than a feature list.
Where MIMO fits
MIMO was built for exactly this kind of business and is launching in Yerevan first. It offers seven card types, joining by QR or NFC with no app, a one-tap scanner for staff, notifications with time-limited offers, gift cards and an honest review flow. Plans are €19, €39 and €79 a month, roughly ֏8,000–9,000, ֏17,000–18,000 and ֏34,000–36,000, with a 14-day free trial and no card details needed.
Product notes from the private MIMO build. Examples are illustrative, with current availability stated explicitly.
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