For a UAE café or restaurant, Dopamine runs stamps and cashback over WhatsApp from AED 0 to AED 2,000 a year, Be Loyal and Wally issue Apple and Google Wallet cards, and Foodics Loyalty suits venues already on Foodics POS. TheCoins suits brands that want their own online store, ordering, app and wallet loyalty on one customer profile, from about AED 290 a month.
This guide is written by TheCoins, which sells loyalty and commerce software and is one of the options below. We list only tools we could confirm are serving UAE businesses in 2025 or 2026, from their own sites or the press, link every fact to a source, and say plainly when another option fits better. Tools we could not tie to the UAE are left out.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | What it does | Published pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| TheCoins | Brands that want store, ordering, app and loyalty together | Coins loyalty with tiers and referrals, Apple Wallet cards, online store, ordering links and QR, branded app, WhatsApp, SMS and push journeys | From $79 (about AED 290) a month |
| Dopamine | Single cafés, salons and walk-in shops | Stamps, points or cashback over WhatsApp, win-back and birthday messages, Google review requests | Free for one location; AED 999 or AED 2,000 a year |
| Be Loyal | Cafés, restaurants and salons that want wallet cards | Stamp, points and membership cards in Apple and Google Wallet, no app needed | Not published |
| Wally | Businesses and developers that want wallet passes | Loyalty, membership and ticket passes for Apple, Google and Samsung Wallet | Free build plan; usage-based after that |
| Foodics Loyalty | Restaurants already on Foodics POS | Points inside the Foodics system, redeemed by phone number | Not published |
| Gameball | E-commerce and app-led brands | Loyalty and gamification across web, app and POS | From $399 a month |
The options, one by one
TheCoins
TheCoins runs coins loyalty, an online store, ordering links and QR codes, and a branded iOS and Android app (on the Pro plan) on one customer profile, so a customer earns the same way online, in the app and at the counter. Customers can carry an Apple Wallet loyalty card or gift card, and WhatsApp, SMS, email and push journeys bring them back. It connects to Oracle MICROS and other POS systems through an API, connects to Shopify, supports multiple branches and kiosks, and works in Arabic and English. Plans are Basic $79, Growth $199 and Pro $349 a month, with no per-order commission. It is built in Cairo.
Choose something else if you only want a digital stamp card at one counter; a lighter tool will cost less.
Dopamine
Dopamine is a Sharjah company, part of MASS Ventures, built around WhatsApp. A customer scans a QR code at the counter, WhatsApp opens, and they collect stamps, points or cashback; staff enter the bill amount and the customer's four-digit code. It groups guests into new, regular, slipping and lost, and sends automatic win-back and birthday messages. The Ignite plan is free for one location, Growth is AED 999 a year, Whitelabel is AED 2,000 a year, and WhatsApp messages cost AED 0.24 each with a 100-message minimum. Its site lists no POS integration, so bills are entered by hand.
Be Loyal
Be Loyal targets UAE and GCC businesses with stamp, points and membership cards that live in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, so customers do not install an app. It is aimed at cafés, restaurants and salons. Its site does not publish pricing or POS integrations, so ask for both.
Wally
Wally is a Dubai wallet-pass platform run by Fifty2 Global Solutions. It issues loyalty, membership, ticket and access passes to Apple, Google and Samsung Wallet, for local businesses such as cafés, salons, gyms and restaurants as well as multi-branch groups. Its Build plan is free for testing, Growth is billed per active pass in customers' wallets, and Enterprise is custom; no AED or USD rates are published.
Foodics Loyalty
Foodics publishes UAE pricing and has announced support packages for UAE F&B operators. Its loyalty feature lives inside the Foodics system: customers earn points on each purchase and redeem them with their phone number, and you set the point value and choose menus and channels, such as delivery only. It is the simplest route if your restaurant already runs on Foodics. Loyalty pricing is not listed on its page.
Gameball
Gameball is a loyalty and gamification platform for retail, e-commerce, fintech and on-demand apps across web, app and POS. Its own September 2026 UAE guide lists a Growth plan from $399 a month (about AED 1,465) for under 10,000 monthly rewarded customers. It suits online-first brands more than a single café.
Coalition programs: Smiles, SHARE and Tickit
UAE shoppers already belong to large coalition programs. These are context, not tools you run under your own brand: you join their network as a partner on their terms.
- Smiles is e& UAE's rewards super app; since August 2025 members can swap points with Etihad Guest miles.
- SHARE, from Majid Al Futtaim, rewards spending at Carrefour, VOX Cinemas and partner brands, and has linked points with Smiles.
- Tickit, from Dubai Holding, links a Visa or Mastercard so points are earned automatically, across more than 3,500 outlets according to Dubai Holding.
What it costs: a worked example
Example only. A café wants loyalty plus about 1,000 WhatsApp messages a month. AED prices use the fixed peg of 3.6725 dirhams per US dollar. The options do not do the same things, so compare what each one includes, not just the total.
| Option | Working | Approximate yearly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Dopamine Growth | AED 999 a year + 1,000 x AED 0.24 x 12 months = 999 + 2,880 | AED 3,879 |
| TheCoins Basic | $79 x 3.6725 = AED 290.13 a month x 12 | AED 3,482 before any messaging fees; check current terms |
| TheCoins Pro | $349 x 3.6725 = AED 1,281.70 a month x 12 | AED 15,380, includes a branded app |
| Gameball Growth | $399 x 3.6725 = AED 1,465.33 a month x 12 | AED 17,584 |
What to check before you choose
- Do you want your own brand in front of customers, or to join a coalition network?
- Does it connect to your POS, or will staff type in each bill?
- Can customers join with a wallet card or WhatsApp instead of downloading an app?
- Do points work online, in the app and in every branch?
- What do WhatsApp and SMS messages cost on top of the plan?
- Is the customer screen available in Arabic and English?
See how coins loyalty works on TheCoins
The UAE market in numbers
Loyalty spending in the UAE was expected to reach $490.8 million in 2025, up 16.1% on 2024, and is forecast to reach $817.6 million by 2029, according to ResearchAndMarkets. That is roughly AED 1.8 billion in 2025 at the 3.6725 peg.
Compare TheCoins plans in full
Sources
- Dopamine: digital loyalty program UAE, plans and pricing (getdopamine.io, 2026)
- About Be Loyal (beloyal.io, 2026)
- Hotel loyalty programs in the UAE (Be Loyal blog, 2026)
- Loyalty program UAE: the 2026 guide for local businesses (Wally, March 2026, updated September 2026)
- Wally pricing (wally.ae, 2026)
- Foodics Loyalty (Foodics, 2025)
- Foodics launches Forward Together for UAE F&B operators (The Source Code)
- Best loyalty program software in the UAE (Gameball, September 2026)
- Smiles and Etihad Guest partnership (e&, August 2025)
- SHARE and Smiles team up (Majid Al Futtaim SHARE, June 2023)
- How Tickit by Dubai Holding works (White Label Loyalty case study)
- Tickit Rewards adds Dollar and Thrifty (Zawya)
- UAE loyalty programs market 2025 (ResearchAndMarkets via Business Wire, September 2025)
- Dollar peg here to stay, UAE central bank official says (Gulf News, September 2018)
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