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Digital Wallet (Stocard)
I’m a type of person that never wants to miss out on a deal and I have been signing up to as many loyalty programs as I could. This was becoming too cumbersome trying to bring all the physical cards with you. You just end up not bothering any more and just keep getting those emails reminding you of some special offer!
With a Digital Wallet you can create a digital copy of your physical card and have your favourite retailer scan your barcode on your phone or smartwatch. You can also see your point balances right in the app. My app of choice is Stocard . In this way you never need to forget to get those points! Other digital wallets in this space are Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
Stocard is a cross platform and cross country digital wallet which allows you to store and use your loyalty cards in your favourite store. It is really easy to use and a pleasing user interface to the eyes.
Google Pay and Apple wallet perhaps have extra features but again you can only use them with their own respective devices.
Digital Wallet vs Standard Wallet
The Good
This is a run down of the pros and cons of a digital wallet in general versus a more traditional wallet. Before we get into it I think these two should compliment each other and be used together.
- Digital wallets allow you to bring many more cards with you at a single time, this allows you to take some weight out of your traditional wallet by bringing only the cards that matter with you.
- You don’t seem to miss out on any deals as you can just open up your phone and scan your cards.
- I’m a fan of good slim wallets with minimal designs which are perfect when used in combination with a digital wallet.
- All of your cards are protected behind your lock screen protection (code digit or a biometric), so you could argue more secure in case you ever lost your wallet.
- Reducing the circulation of physical cards a more greener approach.
What happens if you lose your phone? If you blank out your phone remotely from for example find my iPhone you can rest assured that your card details are not going to be leaked. All card information within Apple Wallet are securely encrypted in the device.
Stocard has a cloud sync function where by you can restore your cards when you get a new device.
Downsides
- Need to have your phone or watch with you, majority of us wouldn’t leave the house without them.
- Battery left on your device.
- Main downside not all retailers have the barcode scanner, they might have it some tills but not all.
People have been stuck in the London Underground (tube) when they tapped in with their digital wallet but were not able to tap out on the other end incurring additional fees, ouch!
How to setup a Digital Wallet with Stocard ?
Let’s get into the step by step process to setup a digital wallet.
Download the app for either the apple store or the google play store depending on which smartphone you have.
I recommend setting up an account with them this will give you several benefits:
- Any loyalty card you add will be synced across all of your devices saving you time.
- In case you buy a new device you will just need to log into your account.
You can use several options here, sign if with apple hides your email address from Stocard, but ties you into the ecosystem.
I would simple register with an email that isn’t my primary one.
You will be asked to type in the one time security code that was sent to your email and that is it!
How to add a loyalty card to Stocard?
Stocard has a very long list of cards and a good international coverage, I’m from the UK and have listed the UK retailers in the next paragraph.
You have an A-Z list on the right and a search box on top for convenience.
Very recently I visited a DIY store in the UK called B&Q and the cashier asked me if I had their club card. I opened up the stocard wallet app on my Apple Watch and figured out I didn’t.
Due to social distancing I was in a rush to leave the store so I missed out on those points. Now is the time to rectify this!
I went the the B&Q website and signed up for their loyalty card. Once received the email, I was able to type in the card number in the app.
If you have the physical card with you the easiest option is to use your smartphone’s camera to scan the barcode, you have the option to add the card manually. This can be quite useful if you don’t have the card on you or you haven’t got it yet.
Another example is the Nando’s card which I just joined online and they directly gave me the option to save to apple wallet or google pay without even generating a card helping to save the envirnoment.
How to use the card in the shops?
This is the easiest part look out for the barcode readers at the checkout, something like this:
You can also ask the cashier to manually type in the card number, they won’t like you though!
Scan the barcode and “ding” you are done!
Stocard helps you not to forget to use your loyalty card, you can turn on this feature based on your location it will pop up when you get in the store.
Which retailers are available with Stocard ?
Last updated in July 2020
| Store | Tested myself |
|---|---|
| B&Q | |
| Beefeater | |
| Boots | |
| BP Card | |
| Cafe Nero | |
| Cex | ✓ |
| Coop | ✓ |
| Costa Coffee | |
| Eurostar | ✓ |
| Greggs | |
| H&M | |
| Ikea | |
| John Lewis | ✓ |
| M&S Gift cards and Spark | ✓ |
| Morrisons | ✓ |
| Nandos | |
| Nectar | ✓ |
| Next | ✓ |
| Showcase | ✓ |
| Tesco | |
| Waitrose | ✓ |
| Waterstones |
Can you add cards from Stocard into Apple Wallet ?
With Apple Wallet you can store your credit cards debit cards, airline tickets and loyalty cards. I use this every day for my debit cards
From the Stocard app you can add to Apple wallet if that is your preference
For security reasons I can’t share screenshots of my bank cards, but I can show you what the Nando card looks like:
Settings
Within the setting tab you have some interesting settings that you can set.
Lock with Touch ID will lock your app and hide any details, I keep this off as this isn’t key to me.
The region tab is very useful if you are planning to travel abroad, I have UK and Italy turned on as they are the countries that I visit more frequently.
When you turn on a region and you go back to the add cards section you will see all the loyalty cards for those countries too!
Offers tab
This is like having all of your vouchers and offers from your local retails.
Stocard is able to provide this service for free !
Apple Watch integration
The integration on the watch is very simple to use, it automatically downloads the app once you have downloaded it on your smartphone.
You can switch between displaying frequently used cards and all cards. Frequently used is perfect for my local trips to Sainsbury and the Co-op.
Tap on your card and you will have the barcode and the number in case you have to type it in manually. Using the digital crown you can quickly scroll to a different card without navigating backwards.
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To the next post and keep it digital!
