A coupon card is designed for customer acquisition — especially through digital advertising channels like Facebook Ads and Google Ads. It offers new customers a one-time incentive for their first visit, such as a discount, free service, or free coffee.

The customer installs the coupon, visits your business, and redeems it. Once redeemed, the coupon can automatically convert into a permanent loyalty card (stamp, cashback, discount, or any other type), giving the customer an incentive to keep coming back.

For example, a customer sees your Facebook ad offering a free cup of coffee, clicks the link, and installs the coupon card. They visit your business, redeem the coupon, and the card automatically converts to a stamp card with the first stamp already earned. The customer is now part of your loyalty program — converted from a one-time visitor into a regular in a single step.

You can either create a card using a pre-loaded template or build one from scratch. This guide walks through creating a card from scratch.

A card is created by completing five sections: Card Type, Settings, Design, Information, and Save & Preview.

Choose the barcode type that determines how the card is scanned and recognized by the system.

Important: This setting cannot be changed after the card has been activated.

Enter the location(s) of your business to trigger push notifications. Customers with the card installed in Apple Wallet receive a notification when they are within 100 meters. You can add 1 location on the Starter plan, 3 on Growth, and up to 10 on the Scale plan — they don't need to be business addresses.

Tip: Geo-located push notifications can increase retention rates by up to 2x and average check amounts by up to 30%.

Link the coupon to an existing loyalty card template (stamp card, cashback card, discount card, etc.). When the customer redeems the coupon, their card automatically converts into the linked loyalty card — transferring them from a one-time visitor into a regular customer with an active loyalty program.

For example, if you link a coupon to a stamp card, the customer redeems their coupon, receives their first-visit reward, and the card converts into a stamp card with the first stamp already earned.

Note: If a customer has already installed the linked card, they will not be able to install the coupon. An error message will appear. This is expected behavior.

Enter the reward customers receive upon their first visit (e.g., "Free coffee" or "15% discount on first purchase"). This is displayed on the coupon card.

Select the language for your coupon card from the dropdown.

Choose how the date is displayed on the card. If the card has no expiration date, this setting is irrelevant.

For coupon cards, this setting is irrelevant since this card type does not use points. You can skip this setting.

When turned on, this setting requires the purchase amount to be entered whenever a transaction is processed. The amount is counted in ROI statistics under the revenue figure.

Define the fields customers fill out when installing the card. By default, the form asks for first name, last name, phone, and date of birth.

Create channel links for analytics tracking. This is especially important for coupon cards since they are designed for distribution via advertising channels.

For example, create separate UTM tags for Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and partner promotions. Copy each UTM link and use it as the landing page URL in your ad campaigns. Perkstar generates a unique URL and QR code for each tag so you can track which channel performs best.

Tip: For offline cross-marketing, download the QR code for a UTM-tagged link and place it as a table tent at a partner's location. For example, if you run a coffee shop, place your coupon QR code at a nearby nail salon — and offer to do the same for them at your shop.

Select which country prefix appears by default in the card issuance form. Customers can choose a different country if needed.

Enable or disable the toggle next to Privacy Policy to show or hide consent on the card installation form. You can edit the privacy policy text as needed.

Enable Consent to the processing of personal data to add a checkbox for marketing data consent.

When enabled, the Google Wallet button appears on the card installation form, allowing Android users to add their card to Google Wallet.

When enabled, the PWA (Progressive Web App) button appears on the card installation form. Customers can install the card as a web app without needing an app store.

Control how many cards can be distributed. Set to 0 for unlimited.

Add custom analytics scripts (such as Facebook Pixel or Google Tag Manager) to track card installs and related user actions.

Once all fields are configured, click Continue to move to the Design section.

Click Select File to upload a logo displayed on the card and the release form.

Click Select File to upload an icon displayed in push messages next to your company name.

Click Select File to upload a background image for the center of the card.

Set colors for card background, text color, and background color of the central part.

Note: If you uploaded a custom background image, the background color setting for the central part is overridden by the image.

Use the Field dropdown to select which fields appear on the front of the card. Use the Field Name column to rename how the field appears. For example, you might display the reward for the first visit, the visit date, and the customer's first name.

Once all design choices are made, click Continue to move to the Information section.

Enter the name of the promotion you're offering via the coupon.

Enter the name of your business. This name appears in push notification titles.

Activate or deactivate the referral program using the Active and Inactive radio buttons.

Tip: We recommend activating the referral program with every coupon card. It's a cost-effective way to grow your customer base without additional advertising spend.

Note: The referrer does not receive an additional bonus since the coupon itself already provides a privilege. In this case, the referral program serves as an additional channel for attracting new customers to your business.

Choose when the referral bonus is issued:

Add links displayed on the back of the card:

Tip: For phone numbers, use the full number with the country code. We recommend using the phone number as the display text for the link as well.

Click the remove button to delete a link, or click Add Link to add another.

Add links for customer reviews. After each transaction, customers are asked about the quality of service. If they provide a positive rating (4 or 5 stars), they are prompted to leave an additional review on the linked platform.

Supported platforms include Google Maps, Yelp, Foursquare, and Facebook.

Tip: Linking to your Google Maps listing helps boost your search ranking and local SEO.

Enable the toggle to include terms of use on the card. The default text is provided as a sample — we recommend updating it with your own terms and conditions. If you have full terms on your website, add the link in the Link to full terms and conditions field.

Enter your company name, email, and contact number. These details appear on the back of the card for customers who need support.

Once all details are filled in, click Finish.

After clicking Finish, the Preview popup appears.

Important: Before activating, you can issue up to 10 test cards to your own devices. Once you activate the card, you cannot change the card type, loyalty program terms, card expiration date, or card issuing form fields.

After activation, you can download promotional materials in PDF format (A5 or A4) for printing. Use these as table tents near your cashier zone or at partner business locations.

When you link a coupon to a loyalty card template (e.g., a stamp card), the coupon automatically converts into that loyalty card after it is redeemed. The customer receives their first-visit reward and immediately has an active loyalty card with their first stamp or points already credited.

No. If a customer has already installed the linked loyalty card, they will not be able to install the coupon. An error message will appear. This is expected behavior.

Yes. The coupon is a one-time card. Once redeemed, it either converts into a linked loyalty card or is marked as used.

Copy the coupon's installation link (or a UTM-tagged link) and use it as the landing page URL in your ad campaign. Customers who click the ad are taken to the card installation form, where they fill in their details and install the coupon directly.