What you are actually moving
Moving a paper loyalty card to digital means recording earned benefits in a digital account after verification. A photograph or a code displayed on a phone does not automatically move stamps into the restaurant's loyalty records.
Review the digital restaurant loyalty guide before choosing a system. This article covers opening balances, a separate operation from adding a supported pass to Wallet.
1. Write down the transfer rule
Define what an existing stamp represents, how to handle partly completed cards and who can approve exceptions. Avoid silently changing a reward's value during the migration. Tell customers the process and contact point before starting.
Fictional example: a card has six stamps towards a ten-visit reward. Explain whether the digital account keeps those six visits or receives a clearly described equivalent. Do not award a full reward and then leave the same paper card usable for another claim.
2. Validate each card once
Give every transfer a reference. Record the destination account, confirmed balance, date and person who checked it. Mark the original card as transferred through a process the team and customer understand.
| Situation | Useful check |
|---|---|
| The same card is presented again | Look up the transfer reference |
| One person has two accounts | Verify ownership before reconciling |
| A balance is disputed | Pause the request and retain the necessary evidence |
| A card cannot be read | Follow the announced exception process |
3. Reconcile the totals
For ten accepted cards, compare the total paper stamps approved with credits actually saved in the new programme. Resolve a difference before processing the next batch. A success message on a screen is not enough if the credit was not persisted.
Do not create fictional orders to represent old loyalty visits. That inflates revenue and damages reporting. An opening loyalty balance must remain distinct from a new sale.
4. Explain the customer's choices
Describe the information needed for membership and the separate communication preferences. Canada's Office of the Privacy Commissioner recommends understandable information and clear choices. A copied stamp card is not permission to enrol someone in a campaign.
5. Confirm the provider's actual process
Ask whether balances move through an import, a manager-approved adjustment or assisted setup. Confirm duplicate controls and a correction process before moving real balances. This guide does not claim that Minerva Flow has a universal stamp-import button.
You can discuss setup with the current programme and the number of cards involved, without posting customer details. After migration, track returns with completed cohorts. Opening balances are historical benefits, not newly earned visits or proof of additional sales.
