Frequently asked questions about BLOK
Short answer: BLOK is a free loyalty card without an app plus a free team of digital employees for local shops in Belgium and the Netherlands. Your customer scans a QR code at the counter and immediately collects in their browser, with nothing to install. Below are the answers to the questions merchants ask most often before they start.
BLOK in brief
| Price | Free forever (optional Pro: €19/month) |
|---|---|
| App needed for your customer | No: no app and no wallet pass, one QR scan in the browser |
| Setup time | About 5 minutes |
| Contract or notice period | None |
| POS integration | No |
| Who owns the customer data | Your shop (hosted in the EU) |
| Languages available | English, Dutch and French |
What is BLOK, and who is it for?
What exactly is BLOK?
BLOK is a free digital loyalty card without an app, plus a free team of digital employees (the “free digital staff”) for local shops in Belgium and the Netherlands. Your customer scans a QR code at the counter and immediately collects in their browser; every morning you get a short e-mail with what your digital team did, and you approve the proposals with one click. Free forever.
Which shops is BLOK made for?
For independent local businesses with customers who come back: bakeries, cafés and coffee bars, butchers, chip shops, hairdressers, nail salons, lash studios and beauty salons, sandwich shops and small stores. Wherever the same people return regularly, a loyalty card does its job. You don't have to find new customers, you give your regulars a reason to come back to you instead of somewhere else.
Price: is it really free?
Is BLOK really free?
Yes, really free. The loyalty card is free forever: unlimited customers and visits, no trial period, no credit card, no setup fee, no contract. An optional Pro plan (€19/month) will later add automatic campaigns, but the loyalty card itself stays free.
Why is it free? What's the catch?
The basics cost us almost nothing to run, so we give them away. We will soon make our money from the shops that want more: an optional Pro plan (€19/month) for shops where everything runs by itself, and perhaps pay-per-use extras, such as e-mails to your customers, foot-traffic campaigns or extra insights into your numbers. You don't have to enter a credit card and there is no trial period that silently turns into a payment.
Can I get Pro for free?
Yes, by earning it. BLOK uses its own loyalty card on its merchants: every shop has its own BLOK card in the dashboard and earns points for the things that make a loyalty card work, like creating your first reward, opening your QR poster, your first ten customers with points and referring another shop. With 100 points you redeem a month of Pro, with no credit card and no subscription that starts in silence. Afterwards you simply continue on the free plan, or keep Pro once the paid plan is available (€19 a month). The smaller rewards are an extra reward slot and mail credits.
Will there be advertising on my loyalty page?
Only if you choose it. We are exploring a small advertising box on the loyalty page, but it is off by default and never appears without your approval. If you switch it on, you share in the revenue: BLOK can then earn you money instead of costing money. Your customers' data is never sold.
Without an app: how does it work?
Is there a free loyalty card without an app for a café or bakery in Belgium or the Netherlands?
Yes. BLOK is a free loyalty card without an app, made for local shops in Belgium and the Netherlands, like cafés and bakeries. Your customer scans a QR code at the counter and immediately has a loyalty card in their browser: nothing to install, no account to create. Free forever, in English, Dutch and French.
Is there a free loyalty card without an app for a nail salon, lash studio or beauty salon?
Yes. BLOK is a free loyalty card without an app, also for beauty businesses like nail salons, lash studios and beauty salons in Belgium and the Netherlands. Your customer scans a QR code after their appointment and immediately has a card in their browser: nothing to install, no account, no wallet. You choose the reward yourself, for example a discount or a little extra when the card is full. Free forever, in English, Dutch and French.
Does my customer need to install an app to collect points?
No. Your customer scans the QR code on your poster or at the counter once and immediately has a loyalty card in their browser. No app store, no account, no download. It works on any phone.
Can my customer scan the QR code with their own phone?
Yes. Your customer simply scans the QR code with their own phone's camera, like a menu or a parking meter: the loyalty card opens immediately in the browser, without installing an app and without adding anything to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. You need no extra device, tablet or scanner at the counter yourself. To count a next visit, you scan your customer's card or they enter the emoji code of the day. It works on every phone, Android and iPhone.
Does BLOK also work without Apple Wallet or Google Wallet?
Yes, and that is exactly the difference with most other digital loyalty cards. With BLOK the card simply lives in the browser via a link and a QR code: your customer has nothing to add to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and nothing to look for in an app store. One scan and the card is there, on any phone.
What if my customer changes phones or clears their browser: is the card lost?
No, as long as an e-mail address is linked to the card or your customer kept the link. The card lives in the browser, so on a new device your customer simply gets it back through the “Recover my card” page. Three ways: open the card link again on the new phone, have a code sent to the card's e-mail address (the customer enters their e-mail or card number), or pick a photo or screenshot of the card's QR code, after which the same code arrives by e-mail. A card number or a photo never logs in on its own: the code always goes to the card's e-mail address, so nobody else gets at the points. Unlike a piece of cardboard, a BLOK card is therefore not lost with a new phone.
What happens at the counter on the next visit?
There are two equally quick ways to count a visit: you scan your customer's card, or your customer enters the emoji code of the day that you show at the counter. Both take only a few seconds, so the queue keeps moving at your busiest hours.
Do I need hardware or a tablet?
No. All you need is a phone or a screen. Nothing to buy, nothing to install at the counter.
Which rewards can I set?
You decide the reward and the number of visits: for example the tenth sandwich free, a free coffee after ten visits, or a little extra on a quiet day to bring people in. BLOK keeps the count for you, no more pen marks on a piece of cardboard.
Setting up, stopping and your POS
How long does it take to set up BLOK?
About five minutes (a coffee break). You create your shop online, choose your reward and show or print your QR poster. After that, it runs by itself.
How do I stop if it isn't for me?
Poster in the bin and you're done. No contract, no notice period, no fees.
Does BLOK work with my POS system?
BLOK is completely independent of your till. Nothing to pair, nothing to install. Whether you have a modern POS system, an old cash register or a simple drawer: it makes no difference.
BLOK compared
What's the best alternative to a paper stamp card?
A digital loyalty card without an app. Unlike paper, it can't be lost or left at home, and unlike a loyalty app your customer has to install nothing. With BLOK your customer scans a QR once; points add up on every visit and the reward you choose triggers automatically.
What's the difference with a loyalty app?
With an app, your customer first has to download it and create an account, which most people never do, so you lose many customers along the way. With BLOK your customer scans a QR and immediately collects in the browser, with nothing to install. That way you keep far more customers who actually keep collecting.
Is BLOK a free alternative to Joyn?
Yes. BLOK is a free alternative to Joyn where the loyalty card is in your own shop's name, not on a shared network. You don't have to cancel Joyn to try BLOK: you can run both side by side for a while and carry over your regulars' points, at the till or through an export from your current system that we import for you for free. (Joyn is a trademark of Joyn Belgium nv, not affiliated with BLOK.)
What does Joyn cost for a merchant, and is there a free alternative?
Joyn works on a monthly subscription. The publicly communicated plans start at around €20 per month, and a fuller marketing plan is listed on the public page of partner KBC at around €59.95 per month excluding VAT (indicative prices that may change, as of July 2026; check joyn.eu for the current plans). The free alternative is BLOK: the basic plan is free forever, with an optional Pro plan at €19 per month. So instead of a fixed monthly cost you pay nothing for the basics, and your customer scans a QR code without an app. (Joyn is a trademark of Joyn Belgium nv, not affiliated with BLOK.)
Your data
Who owns my customers' data?
It is and stays yours. Nothing is sold, no advertising appears without your approval, and you can export everything whenever you want. Your data is hosted in the European Union.
Free digital staff: the digital employees
What is BLOK's “free digital staff”?
Digital employees that do part of your shop's work: they bring back lapsed customers, fill your quietest day with a campaign, draft your Instagram posts and your Google-review replies, and answer your questions about your own numbers. Every morning you get a short e-mail with what they did and you approve a proposal with one click.
Do I stay in control of what gets sent?
Yes, always. Your team proposes, you decide: nothing goes out without your ✓. Every morning you see in a single e-mail what is ready and you approve with one click.
Can the AI already do my bookkeeping or my stock?
No, BLOK doesn't do that today. Bookkeeping, invoices, stock and customer service are on the roadmap, but not available yet. We only promise what really works today.
With BLOK it doesn’t stop at the card.
Every loyalty card comes with free staff: digital employees that win back lapsed customers, fill your quiet days and write your posts and review replies. You approve with one click.
Want to know more? Read why a loyalty card without an app works better, meet the free digital staff, see the pricing or go back to the homepage. This page also exists in Dutch and French.