How to redeem an offer with a QR code, kept private until it's tapped

An offer is only as good as the moment it is redeemed. If that moment is fumbling, a torn coupon, a code typed wrong, a screenshot that will not scan, you lose the goodwill the offer was supposed to build. A wallet makes redemption a clean, two-second exchange, and adds a privacy touch most businesses overlook. Here is how it works.

How redemption actually works

The flow is simple and, importantly, it runs the right direction. The customer opens the offer, voucher, or ticket in their wallet, which shows a scannable code. The business scans that code, with a reader or a phone, and it is marked redeemed. The customer’s phone displays the code; it does not scan anything itself.

That direction matters because it is the secure one. The value lives with you, the business doing the scanning, not in a code a customer could copy and reuse. One scan, redeemed, done.

Tap-to-reveal: private until the moment of use

Here is the detail that separates a thoughtful redemption from a sloppy one. By default, a redemption code can sit in plain view, which means it is exposed while the customer scrolls, hands over their phone, or sets it on the counter. Tap-to-reveal fixes that: the code stays hidden behind the card until the customer taps to flip it, so it is shown only in the second it is being scanned.

This is on by default for new businesses, and existing ones can switch it on. It is a small thing that signals care: the customer’s reward is treated like something worth protecting, not a number left lying around.

Why this beats a paper coupon or a screenshot

A paper coupon gets lost, torn, or left at home. A screenshot is a dead image: it cannot be marked redeemed, so it can be reused, and it clutters a camera roll until it is forgotten. A code in the wallet is live in the way that counts: it is tied to the offer, it is scanned once, and it is right there in the app the customer already keeps open. No printing, no photo-roll archaeology, no double redemptions.

Where this fits

Redemption is a Customer-stage moment, the point where an offer turns into an actual visit and sale. It is the close of the loop that starts with a digital offer and, for time-sensitive deals, a timed offer. For the wider set of things a wallet can do that a website cannot, see what a mobile wallet does that a website can’t.

Want redemption to feel effortless? See how it works.