REFERRAL PROGRAM

Let Your Customers Bring the Next Ones

Every cardholder gets their own share link. When a friend installs through it, the system knows exactly who sent them — and you decide whether the bonus pays on install, or only once that friend actually walks in.

Try it yourself

Follow One Referral All the Way Through

Sara already has your card. Watch what happens when she sends it to a friend — and notice that nothing costs you a thing until that friend actually walks in.

👩 Sara already has your card
🤵 Her friend has never heard of you
Shared0link clicks
Installed0cards from links
Visited0referrals who came in
Revenue$0from those visits

Sara is about to share her card with a friend. Press the button to follow it.

9:41●●● ⏷ 🔋
💅Hana Nail Bar Sara sent you something
👩 Sara “You have to try this place — here’s my card, you get 2 free stamps.” take.cards/w2SQG
Hana Nail Bar Just installed
Stamps0
Invited bySara
🎉 2 welcome stamps from Sara’s invite

Both sides are rewarded from the same setting — you choose how much each gets.

How it works

Your Customers Do the Advertising

Every card carries a share link belonging to the person holding it. When a friend installs through that link, the system knows exactly who sent them — and rewards both.

💬1

They share their own link

Straight from the card in their wallet, into WhatsApp or a message. No forms, no codes to type, nothing for anyone to remember.

📲2

The friend installs

One tap and the card is in their wallet, already tagged as coming from that specific person. You now have a contact you did not pay an ad platform for.

🤝3

You choose when it counts

Pay the bonus the moment the card is installed, or wait until the friend actually visits and spends. Most businesses should wait — see below.

🎁4

Both sides get rewarded

Stamps, points, or extra visits — you set the amount for the person who shared and for the person who joined, separately.

Know before you promise

Referrals Work Differently on Each Card

This is the detail that catches people out. On two card types the person who refers a friend gets nothing at all, and on one it does not exist.

Card type The person who shares gets The friend who joins gets
StampStamps you chooseStamps you choose
RewardPoints you choosePoints you choose
CashbackPoints you choosePoints you choose
MultipassExtra visits and pointsExtra visits and points
DiscountNothingThe card itself
CouponNothingThe offer itself
GiftNo referral feature
Two things follow from that table. First, if you want a genuine two-way referral, build it on a stamp, reward, cashback, or multipass card — those are the four that pay both sides. Second, never advertise “refer a friend and you both win” on a discount or coupon card, because only the friend wins. The platform treats the coupon itself as the reward, which is defensible — but it is not what your poster would be promising.
The one setting that matters

Pay on Install, or Pay on First Visit?

One toggle, two very different programmes. Get this wrong and you will pay for installs that never become customers.

  On install On first visit
What triggers the bonusThe friend saves the cardThe friend actually comes in
Cost if they never visitYou already paidNothing
How fast it feelsInstant, very shareableDelayed, needs explaining
Risk of gamingHighLow
Best forLaunch weeks, building a list fastAlmost everything else
Start on first visit. Installs are free to generate and cost you nothing to lose, so paying for them invites exactly the behaviour you do not want — a handful of people sharing a link into every group chat they are in. Switch to paying on install only if you have a launch week where a big contact list is genuinely worth more than the bonuses you will hand out.
Where it works best

Built for Businesses People Recommend Anyway

Referrals do not create word of mouth. They reward the word of mouth you already have, and make it countable.

💇

Salons & barbers

2 stamps each side

People ask each other “where do you get your hair done?” every week. This turns that conversation into an install you can trace.

🍕

Restaurants & cafes

Points on the friend’s first bill

Groups arrive together. One person’s card can bring in the whole table, and the table usually spends more than the person who invited them.

🧗

Studios & classes

A free class for both

Nobody wants to try a new class alone. Rewarding the invite solves the awkwardness and fills a slot you were paying for anyway.

🚗

Car washes & garages

One free wash after two referrals

A service people compare on price alone. A neighbour’s recommendation beats a cheaper sign down the road every time.

🐶

Pet services

Points for both after the first groom

Dog owners talk to each other constantly, in parks and in group chats. Few businesses have a more natural referral audience.

💐

Florists & gift shops

Points on the friend’s first order

Occasion-driven buying, where people ask around before ordering. Being the shop a friend already vouched for wins the order.

Worth knowing

Settings Most People Never Find

All of these live in the card builder or the dashboard, and any one of them changes how well the programme works.

When the bonus pays out

Install or first visit — the single most consequential toggle on this page. Set it before you print anything, and tell your team which one you chose.

🔢

Two amounts, set separately

The sharer and the joiner do not have to receive the same thing. Giving the friend slightly more makes the invite easier to send.

🏆

Your top ten inviters

The dashboard ranks who brings in the most, by visits or by spend. These few people are worth knowing by name and thanking personally.

📊

Four numbers, not one

Links clicked, cards installed, referrals who visited, and revenue from those visits. Only the last two tell you whether it is working.

🔗

A link per customer

Every cardholder gets their own, generated automatically. Nothing to distribute and no codes for staff to look up at the counter.

🚫

Card types without it

Gift cards have no referral feature at all, and on discount and coupon cards the sharer receives nothing. Check the table above before you promise anything.

Before you launch

Four Mistakes That Cost Real Money

Referral programmes fail quietly. These are the four reasons why.

Paying on install during a launch push

It is the most tempting combination and the most expensive one. A few people will share the link everywhere, you will pay bonuses on dozens of installs, and almost none of them will visit. If you must pay on install, cap the campaign and watch it daily.

Promising a two-way reward on the wrong card

On discount and coupon cards, the person who refers a friend receives nothing. Advertise a mutual bonus there and your best customers will feel misled by the one thing you asked them to do for you.

Never asking anyone to share

A referral programme switched on in settings is not a referral programme. The link has to be mentioned — on the receipt, by the person at the till, in a push after a good visit. Most programmes fail here, not in the maths.

Measuring by clicks

Shared cards counts link clicks, which feels great and means very little. Judge the programme on referrals who visited and the revenue they brought. Those are two different numbers on the same screen, and only one of them pays your rent.

Turn Word of Mouth Into Something You Can Count

The referral programme is included on every plan, on every card type that supports it. Switch it on, decide the two amounts, and start asking — the trial costs nothing and needs no card.