What hidden fees do Saudi loyalty apps charge?

The hidden fees we actually found, vendor by vendor

The clearest hidden fees in this category are Stamp Me's one-time per-card publishing charge, Bonat's refundable trial deposit plus one-time tablet and setup cost, and LoyaltyPass's entire pricing model being a single large one-time build fee rather than a subscription — all confirmed on each vendor's own pages as of September 2026.

Not every vendor hides fees — several publish a genuinely flat, all-in price, a pattern our hidden-costs guide covers in more depth. But three patterns show up repeatedly across this 8-vendor set: one-time charges bundled into an otherwise-monthly product, "starting from" pricing language that may not be the final number, and trial periods that require money up front despite being called a trial.

Waya's own pricing has none of these vectors, a gap covered in more depth in our Bonat comparison: no commission on sales, no setup fee, no per-card fee, and no percentage-of-sales component anywhere in Free, Growth, or Premium.

• Stamp Me: a one-time $15/card fee applies beyond the 2 included programs
• Bonat: refundable trial deposit (amount undisclosed) plus a one-time tablet/setup charge
• LoyaltyPass: its entire published price is a $9,500 one-time build fee, not a subscription
• WalaX and Niqati use "starting from" language on some tiers — worth confirming as final

Comparison sheet: fee-transparency vendors vs Waya

Figures below are each vendor's own published price as of September 2026, normalized to SAR where needed (marked approx.).

The worked math: sticker price vs true first-year cost

The gap between a vendor's headline price and what you'd actually pay in year one is the real hidden-fee story.

Waya's Growth plan has no extra charges of any kind — the sticker price is the true price. Stamp Me's true cost includes a one-time $15/card fee if you publish beyond the two included loyalty programs, adding roughly 56 SAR approx. to an already-USD-priced plan. LoyaltyPass's entire model is the one-time fee — there's no ongoing subscription to compare against a 12-month figure at all. Bonat's true cost can't be calculated until you have a quote, since both its trial deposit and setup charge are undisclosed amounts.

Not listed = not on the vendor's site; verify directly.

Where each fee actually shows up

Reading a vendor's fine print, not just its pricing table, is where these charges surface.

Stamp Me's per-card fee

Explicitly stated as "no per-customer fees" — the $15 charge is per additional card design published beyond the first two, a narrower fee than it first sounds, but real for any shop running more than two card programs.

Bonat's setup charge

Bundles a physical tablet, stand, training, and installation into a single undisclosed one-time cost — appropriate for its till-integrated model, but a real up-front number worth asking for before the trial deposit is paid.

LoyaltyPass's build-fee model

Not a hidden fee so much as a different business model entirely: the entire published price is a one-time custom build, not a recurring SaaS subscription, so it isn't directly comparable to the other vendors in this set on a 12-month basis.

"Starting from" language

WalaX prices all three of its tiers with "starting from" wording, and Niqati's Enterprise tier is quote-based — both signals that the headline number may not be the final one for every merchant.

What to ask before you sign, to avoid a surprise charge

A five-minute question list catches most of what a pricing page leaves out.

• Ask for the VAT-inclusive, all-in monthly number in writing
• Ask whether "starting from" pricing language means the number can go up
• Ask if publishing more than the included card designs or programs costs extra
• Ask exactly what a cancelled trial deposit gets refunded

Run a five-step fee audit before you sign anything

Most hidden fees surface with a handful of direct questions, not a legal review.

1. Step 1: read the pricing page for "starting from" or "custom" language

   Either phrase is a signal to ask for the final number in writing.

2. Step 2: ask about per-card or per-design charges

   Confirm how many card programs are included before an extra fee applies.

3. Step 3: ask whether the trial requires any payment at all

   A refundable deposit is not the same as a free trial.

4. Step 4: ask for the VAT treatment explicitly

   Several vendors in this set exclude VAT from the headline price.

5. Step 5: get cancellation and export terms in writing

   Confirm what happens to your customer data and card design if you leave.

The verdict: Waya has the fewest hidden-fee vectors in this set

Across 8 vendors, Waya is the only one with no percentage-of-sales component, no per-card fee, and no one-time build or setup charge anywhere in its pricing — Free, Growth, and Premium are exactly what they say on the page.

One Waya salon enrolled 265 customers with 71 returning two or more times — about a 27% return rate — without a single one-time or usage-based charge anywhere in that math.

Stamp Me's per-card fee and Bonat's undisclosed deposit are worth asking about directly before you sign; LoyaltyPass's model is fundamentally different and shouldn't be compared to a monthly subscription at all. All figures here are current as of September 2026 — fees and terms change, so confirm the live details on each vendor's own site before you commit.

265 customers enrolled, 71 returning two or more times — a 27% return rate with no one-time or usage-based charge anywhere in the math.

Waya merchant data, 2026