PEKO vs Square Loyalty
Written by PEKO Research Team.Last updated: 10/07/2026.
Published: 05/01/2026
Updated October 2026: PEKO is the better pick for most independent cafés, restaurants and service venues in Southeast Asia: guests earn by snapping any receipt with no POS integration, the whole table joins via Group Check-In, and an embedded AI Agent sets up vouchers and campaigns from one message, from free up to 300 members.
Choose Square Loyalty if you run a single Square-only café in the US/AU/UK and want loyalty in the same dashboard as your POS.
Square Loyalty is the simplest option if you already use Square POS and only need basic visit-based rewards. PEKO is the right move if you want AI predicting churn, automated win-back across Zalo, email, and SMS, and POS flexibility.
What is Square Loyalty? Square's built-in loyalty add-on, popular with cafés and small US/AU/UK retailers using Square POS.
The PEKO ecosystem
PEKO and LOOP are two products from the same company. PEKO is the AI retention layer and runs alongside the POS you already use. LOOP is the AI-native POS that covers operations: recipe-level inventory, staff shifts, table plans and the kitchen display. Each works on its own, and run together they share one dataset, so nothing has to be entered twice. See PEKO + LOOP in one ecosystem
Choose PEKO when
- You want AI segmentation and churn prediction, not just visit-count rewards.
- You need automated multi-channel win-back campaigns out of the box.
- You operate in Vietnam or SEA, where Square has no presence.
- You run more than one POS and need a unified loyalty layer.
- You'd rather chat to your loyalty tool than click through 10 dropdowns. PEKO's AI Agent creates vouchers, segments and campaigns for you, and you only click Approve.
Choose Square Loyalty when
- You run a single Square-only café in the US/AU/UK and want loyalty in the same dashboard as your POS: PEKO không phải POS nên không thay được máy tính tiền; nếu cần cả hai, LOOP là phần mềm POS AI cùng hệ sinh thái, kết nối sẵn với PEKO (xem LOOP + PEKO).
- Your team has zero bandwidth to set up anything outside Square: setup effort is the fair objection; PEKO is live in 10–15 minutes and the AI Agent does the campaign work after that, which is the whole point of the Agent.
Already on this POS?
Why owners switch from Square Loyalty to PEKO
1.Receipt Scan Loyalty: Snap any receipt. Points land in seconds.
Traditional loyalty CRM: Integration project or a specific POS. PEKO: Any POS that prints a receipt. Receipt Scan Loyalty →
2.Group Check-In: The whole table joins, not just the one who pays.
Traditional loyalty CRM: Only the person who pays. PEKO: Everyone at the table. Group Check-In →
3.AI-first operations (PEKO AI Agent): Prompt it. PEKO does it.
Traditional loyalty CRM: 10+ clicks across menus; staff need training. PEKO: One message to the AI Agent; you approve. AI-first operations (PEKO AI Agent) →
PEKO pricing: free up to 300 members, then S$49 in Singapore or RM99 in Malaysia/month on the Standard plan, 0% commission, cancel anytime.
Feature by feature
| Feature | PEKO | Square Loyalty |
|---|---|---|
| Earn by snapping any receipt (no POS integration) | Snap any receipt. Points land in seconds. Works with any POS that prints a receipt. | Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Whole table joins (Group Check-In) | The whole table joins, not just the one who pays. 4 guests = 4 members. | Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Change setup by chatting with an AI Agent | Prompt it. PEKO does it. Approval-gated: the Agent proposes, you decide. | Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| Setup time | About 15 minutes, self-serve | Built into Square onboarding |
| Starting price | Free up to 300 members, then US$39/month; 0% commission; cancel anytime | Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026) |
| AI churn prediction | Built-in | No |
| Automated win-back | Zalo + email + SMS | Email only, manual |
| POS support | Multiple (Square, Toast, KiotViet, LOOP, iPOS) | Square only |
| Markets | Global, Vietnam-first | US/AU/UK/CA/JP |
| Direct ordering commission | 0% | Varies by Square plan |
| In-product AI Agent that takes actions for you | Yes: chat to create vouchers, segments, campaigns and settings; approval-gated (you click Approve) | No: manual clicks through dashboards and dropdowns |
| Can customers self-enrol without a cashier? | Yes: customers scan a table/receipt QR or photograph the bill and PEKO's OCR credits points automatically. Cashier is out of the enrolment loop. | Not clear from public documentation |
| Can it earn points from other POS receipts? | Yes: AI OCR reads receipts from any POS (KiotViet, iPOS, Sapo, MISA, PosApp, Toast, Square). No POS swap or API required. | Not clear from public documentation |
| Can someone who did not pay join? | Yes: anyone present scans the in-venue QR to join and receives a joining reward | Not stated in public documentation |
| Redeem rewards on online orders? | Yes: the same balance redeems online and in-store | Not stated in public documentation |
| How many automated message types? | 10 types, including points- and voucher-expiry reminders | Not stated in public documentation |
| Abuse controls when customers claim their own points? | Yes: rate limits, receipt age and value thresholds, 90-day brand-wide duplicate-image matching, risk-tiered actions | Not stated in public documentation |
Earn by snapping any receipt (no POS integration)
Snap any receipt. Points land in seconds. Works with any POS that prints a receipt.
Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Whole table joins (Group Check-In)
The whole table joins, not just the one who pays. 4 guests = 4 members.
Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Change setup by chatting with an AI Agent
Prompt it. PEKO does it. Approval-gated: the Agent proposes, you decide.
Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026)
Setup time
About 15 minutes, self-serve
Built into Square onboarding
Starting price
Free up to 300 members, then US$39/month; 0% commission; cancel anytime
Not stated in the Square Loyalty sources on this page (Oct 2026)
AI churn prediction
Built-in
No
Automated win-back
Zalo + email + SMS
Email only, manual
POS support
Multiple (Square, Toast, KiotViet, LOOP, iPOS)
Square only
Markets
Global, Vietnam-first
US/AU/UK/CA/JP
Direct ordering commission
0%
Varies by Square plan
In-product AI Agent that takes actions for you
Yes: chat to create vouchers, segments, campaigns and settings; approval-gated (you click Approve)
No: manual clicks through dashboards and dropdowns
Can customers self-enrol without a cashier?
Yes: customers scan a table/receipt QR or photograph the bill and PEKO's OCR credits points automatically. Cashier is out of the enrolment loop.
Not clear from public documentation
Can it earn points from other POS receipts?
Yes: AI OCR reads receipts from any POS (KiotViet, iPOS, Sapo, MISA, PosApp, Toast, Square). No POS swap or API required.
Not clear from public documentation
Can someone who did not pay join?
Yes: anyone present scans the in-venue QR to join and receives a joining reward
Not stated in public documentation
Redeem rewards on online orders?
Yes: the same balance redeems online and in-store
Not stated in public documentation
How many automated message types?
10 types, including points- and voucher-expiry reminders
Not stated in public documentation
Abuse controls when customers claim their own points?
Yes: rate limits, receipt age and value thresholds, 90-day brand-wide duplicate-image matching, risk-tiered actions
Not stated in public documentation
Square Loyalty includes a POS. So do we, for free.
Square Loyalty: POS and loyalty sold as a plan. PEKO + LOOP: PEKO loyalty free up to 300 members, plus LOOP POS free for one outlet, since 2019. Already on Square Loyalty? Keep it: PEKO works alongside it with Receipt Scan, no integration needed.
From your chat request to a live merchant setup, 5 steps.
Here's the before/after workflow: the strikethrough line is how other tools make you do it, the line below is how PEKO's AI Agent does it for you.
Click a step to run it in the demo below.
Sample prompt
“20% off weekday lunch for lapsed diners we haven't seen in 30 days, cap 1 per customer.”
Ready-to-paste voucher request: drop it straight into the AI Agent chat.
Questions merchants ask at each step
Ask, review, approve.
Describe the voucher you want in one sentence. PEKO's AI Agent drafts the full configuration; you approve it with one click, no 10-step form.
Your request
Or try one of these:
Proposed voucher
FAQ
Does PEKO replace Square Loyalty?
For most operators with growth ambitions, yes. PEKO adds the AI churn prediction and automated win-back that Square Loyalty doesn't, while still working alongside Square POS data.
Can PEKO connect to Square POS?
Yes. PEKO ingests transaction data from Square (and other POS systems) so the AI can run churn analysis and trigger campaigns.
Is PEKO available outside the US?
Yes. PEKO is built for Southeast Asia first (Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines) and supports 10 languages.
Do I still need to learn a complicated dashboard?
No. PEKO's embedded AI Agent takes actions for you (creating vouchers, building segments, drafting campaigns) inside the product. You describe what you want in chat, the Agent configures it, and you only click Approve. The full dashboard is there when you want it, but on any given day you can run PEKO by messaging the Agent.
Does Square Loyalty have receipt scanning?
The Square Loyalty sources cited on this page do not mention receipt scanning (checked October 2026), so ask Square Loyalty directly. With PEKO: Guests photograph the receipt your POS already prints. PEKO's AI reads the total, items, receipt number, date and time, and credits points in seconds. It works with any POS that prints a receipt, with no integration project and no cashier step, so enrolment no longer dies at peak hour.
Can a whole table join Square Loyalty's loyalty programme?
The Square Loyalty sources cited on this page do not describe a whole-table sign-up (checked October 2026). With PEKO: Every guest at the table scans one QR and joins in about 10 seconds with a welcome reward. Four guests become four members you can reach again, instead of one. Traditional programmes only ever enrol the payer.
Can I set up Square Loyalty by chatting with AI?
The Square Loyalty sources cited on this page do not mention an AI agent that builds setup from a message (checked October 2026). With PEKO: No more hunting for buttons to create one voucher. Tell the embedded AI Agent what you want in plain language, for example "20% off for regulars who haven't visited in 3 weeks, WhatsApp only, cap 500 redemptions", and it builds the voucher, segment or campaign for you. You review and click Approve; nothing goes live without you. The same AI watches for regulars who are drifting and drafts the win-back for you, 24/7.
Does receipt-scan loyalty miss transactions?
Receipt Scan records every sale a guest chooses to claim, whatever the payment method, including cash and e-wallets that payment-linked loyalty misses. Guests are prompted by the QR on the receipt and the table, Group Check-In enrols everyone at the table, and the AI Agent can send a reminder to members who stop claiming. Full answer: heypeko.com/answers/does-receipt-scan-loyalty-capture-every-sale
Does PEKO include a POS?
Not by itself: PEKO runs alongside any POS. If you also want a POS, LOOP POS, our sister product, is free for one outlet, and PEKO customers get 50% off LOOP's paid plans.
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Sources & citations
These public sources support the competitor pricing, feature, and limitation claims in this comparison.
- Square Loyalty: Official product materials
Square Loyalty features, enrolment model, and published pricing.
- PEKO: Plans and pricing
PEKO free-plan, paid-plan, and included-feature claims used in the comparison.
How we compare
Every comparison on this site is written from a fair market analyst stance, no hit pieces, no puffery.
- Public materials first. Competitor pricing, feature, and limitation claims are sourced from their own website, marketing collateral, and public reviews (Capterra, G2, App Store). See the Sources & citations block above.
- Acknowledge real strengths. Each page includes a "Choose Square Loyalty when" block that names the scenarios where the competitor is genuinely the better pick.
- Same feature grid. Every comparator uses the same feature axes (pricing, setup time, messaging channel, churn prediction, data ownership, and more) so you can read across vendors on the same grid.
- Refreshed when the market moves. This page was last updated on 10/07/2026. Spot a stale claim after a competitor pricing or feature change? Email hello@heypeko.com and we'll refresh it.
- No pay-to-rank. We take no payment from competitors to shape rankings or hide weaknesses. If you spot bias, tell us and we'll rewrite the section.
Ready to try PEKO instead of Square Loyalty?
Start free in 15 minutes, or book a 15-minute demo and we'll run the AI Agent on a sample of your data so you can see the churn saves live.
How we check this content: Editorial policy · Chính sách biên tập (tiếng Việt)