Embargo vs FaveCard (2026): Loyalty Card With or Without an App

Who each is best for

Embargo is a London loyalty app and customer platform for hospitality: coffee shops, restaurants, bakeries and delis. Your stamp card sits in the Embargo app next to other venues' cards, and the app lists every venue to all its users, with a map and search. Around the card, Embargo adds online ordering and delivery, cashless tips and a small stamping device for the till. If those matter to you, Embargo is a strong option, especially in the UK and Poland.

FaveCard is the better fit if you want customers to join without downloading anything and you want to start free. The card goes into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on a paid plan, or opens in the phone's browser on the Free plan, and it is your own card, not one of many in a shared app. It suits any local business, from a café or bakery to a hair salon, a barber or a car wash.

How do you get started with Embargo and with FaveCard?

With FaveCard you start on your own. You create a business account, and the Dashboard walks you through it step by step: your business, your card, its stamp messages, trying the card, your page, the questions customers answer when they add your card, verifying your business, then going live. You can buy the Pro or Business plan online whenever you want. You do not need a demo, a sales call or our team; our help articles and contact page are there if you get stuck.

Embargo's pages send you to a quote form, a demo or its sales team: the plans and prices come with a personal quote, and its homepage says you can ask for a trial when you book a demo. Its team then designs your card and sets it up, in one to three working days by its pages, with a small Embargo device for the till. If you would rather have it done for you, that is a real plus.

How much does Embargo cost compared with FaveCard?

Embargo shows only a starting price. Its quote page says “Starting From £1 Per Day/Site” in the UK, and its Polish quote page says 5 zł a day per location. Subscriptions are monthly rolling, with “no long-term commitment and easy cancellation”. The full plans and their prices come with a personal quote, after a form or a demo; its homepage says you can ask for a trial when you book a demo. Its Embargo App page says your card launches with no setup costs. We found no tax note or device price on its marketing pages (home, quote, app and wallet pages). The Terms of Service shown on its Embargo Portal login page say fees are payable in British pounds unless agreed otherwise in writing, and you pay the sales and other taxes on the service, and either side can end the agreement with 30 days’ written notice (checked on 8 November 2026).

FaveCard has a free plan with no time limit, no credit card and no cap on customers: one stamp card, a card that opens in your customers' phone browser, and stamping with the FaveCard app. The Pro plan adds Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes and your own logo and banner; the Business plan adds offers sent to their lock screen through the Wallet card, a birthday reward sent for you, Google review requests, a tablet at the counter where customers stamp their own card, your customer list as a CSV download and logins for your staff. Paid plans run monthly or yearly, and you can cancel any time; current amounts are on our pricing page.

Do your customers need an app?

With Embargo, yes. Its FAQ says customers collect stamps through the Embargo app, where your venue and card are listed, and claim rewards there. The app is free on iPhone (iOS 16 or later) and Android. To collect a stamp, the customer presses a button in the app and holds the phone on the Embargo device at the till, or shows a QR code to staff; Embargo's privacy policy says the app uses the phone's location to check the customer is at the venue. Its App Store listing shows “Supports: Wallet”, but neither the listing nor Embargo's pages say what the app puts in Apple Wallet; we found no Google Wallet card or browser card on its pages.

With FaveCard, no. The customer scans your QR code, enters at least an e-mail and first name, and the card goes into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet (Pro plan and up) or opens in the browser. Staff give stamps by scanning the card's QR code with the FaveCard app on any phone; there is no device to buy. If a customer changes phone, they open your page, enter their e-mail and a one-time code, and get their card back.

Being found by new customers

This is where Embargo's shared app helps. Its Embargo App page says your venue is “visible to all Embargo App users from day one”, with search, filters and a map of venues nearby. Its UK App Store listing shows 4.8 stars from 8,423 ratings, and Google Play shows more than 500,000 downloads (7 November 2026). FaveCard has no customer app to be listed in: each business gets its own free page, where customers join, and the card shows your business.

Languages

FaveCard's business page, where customers join, runs in 30 languages; its dashboard, staff app and the e-mails it sends you, the owner, run in 19. Embargo's app lists five languages on the App Store (English, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish), and its website is in English, Polish and Spanish.

When to choose Embargo instead

• You want orders and delivery through your loyalty card. Embargo takes delivery, pickup and catering orders, says it charges “up to three times lower commission”, and can bring orders from itself, Deliveroo and UberEats into your till (Wolt, Bolt and Glovo in Poland). FaveCard's Business plan can show your menu or price list on your page, but it takes no orders or payments.
• You want cashless tips. Customers can tip through their card or a small tipping device, and in the UK Embargo runs a tronc system for tips and service charge. FaveCard has no tips.
• You run Lightspeed Restaurant. Lightspeed's page lists Embargo for its K-Series and L-Series. FaveCard has no POS connection.
• You want more ways to reach customers. Embargo's Portal sends push messages and e-mail campaigns, in-app offers, promo codes and gift cards, filters customers by activity and ordering habits, and shows 30 or more live reports. FaveCard sends offers to the lock screen through the Wallet card on the Business plan, and has no e-mail campaigns or gift cards.
• You want it done for you. Embargo designs and launches your card in one to three working days, by its pages, and offers support seven days a week, for you and your customers.

Moving from Embargo to FaveCard

FaveCard cannot import customers or stamp balances today, so your regulars start a new FaveCard card. You can run both for a few weeks: put the FaveCard QR code by the till, and honour the stamps people already have on Embargo until they are used. Embargo's FAQ says its team helps businesses move stamps over when they join Embargo from another scheme.

How we compared

How we verified this: We make FaveCard. Every Embargo fact comes from Embargo's own pages, checked on 7 November 2026: its homepage, quote page (and the Polish one), FAQ, Embargo App, Embargo Wallet and Embargo Portal pages, and its privacy policy; on 8 November 2026 also the Terms of Service on its Embargo Portal login page; plus its App Store and Google Play listings, Lightspeed's integration page and the UK company register (Embargo Lifestyle Limited, company 10261303). Embargo's own pages give different venue counts (1,500+, 2,000+, 3,000+ and 3,500+); we quote each with its page. FaveCard's plans were checked against our product on the same day. FaveCard's business numbers come from our own records (FaveCard in numbers): 2,000+ counts the businesses that gave stamps to at least two different customers in the last 30 days (22 September – 21 October 2026), and 80+ the countries where those businesses are based (the country in each business's FaveCard profile; countries, not territories). As of October 2026. On 8 November 2026 we re-read its homepage, quote, demo, Embargo App and Embargo Wallet pages for the section on getting started; they had not changed. FaveCard's sign-up steps come from our Dashboard as owners use it today. We did not sign up for Embargo or use its onboarding; where its public pages say nothing, we say “not found”. Prices and plans change: check each source before relying on it, and if you see an error, tell us through our contact page and we will correct it. Deliveroo, UberEats, Wolt, Bolt, Glovo and Lightspeed are trademarks of their owners; FaveCard is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by any of them.

Update log

• 8 November 2026: after an independent fact check: Embargo's App Store listing shows “Supports: Wallet” without saying what for, so we no longer say we found no Wallet card; added the 30 days' written notice from its Terms of Service; the trial is one you ask for when you book a demo; no tax note on its marketing pages, while its Terms say you pay the taxes on the service and its fees are payable in British pounds unless agreed otherwise in writing; FaveCard's sign-up steps now include the questions customers answer; several locations: write to hello@favecard.co.
• 8 November 2026: added how you get started with each (sign up yourself or a quote and demo); Embargo's homepage, quote, demo, app and wallet pages re-read that day, unchanged.
• 7 November 2026: page written; every Embargo fact checked on its own pages on 7 November 2026.