Sopoints vs Fivestars (SumUp Connect)
Fivestars became part of SumUp and, in the United States, is now marketed as SumUp Connect: customers join by entering a phone number on the customer-facing screen at checkout, automated texts and emails bring them back, and your business is promoted on the screens of nearby businesses using the same system. Sopoints is a loyalty platform for independent businesses in Canada and the United States with a free plan, a POS screen that runs on any device, a shared points currency across merchants, and a waitlist and QR payments on the same account. Here is an honest look at Sopoints vs Fivestars.
Both have a network angle, and they work differently
SumUp Connect's automated-marketing page explains its network like this: "Your business name and location will appear at checkout on the customer facing screen at nearby businesses" that use "the Fivestars by SumUp loyalty system", and customers get suggestions on other places they can earn rewards, with direct competitors excluded. That is an exposure network: your name reaches shoppers who are checking out somewhere else nearby.
Sopoints is a currency network. Points are Loyalty Wallet Points, worth one cent in the merchant's currency, and a customer can earn them at one participating merchant and spend them at another. SumUp's public pages describe rewards as something you configure for "your loyalty program" that appears on your checkout screen; they do not describe points moving between businesses, so confirm with SumUp if cross-business redemption matters to you. Read /universal-loyalty-program for how the Sopoints model works.
Phone number at the screen vs phone, QR or NFC on any device
Fivestars made phone-number enrolment at the counter mainstream, and SumUp Connect keeps it: "By simply entering their phone number, they're a new member of your loyalty program before they even get their receipt." There is also a text-to-join keyword, and the FAQ says "no apps or smartphones required". The join happens on the customer touchscreen of the POS or customer-facing screen, and its pricing describes hardware included in the higher package.
Sopoints also supports phone-number lookup, so the fast counter join is there, but it adds QR scan and NFC tap, digital cards in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and a customer app. Staff run the Sopoints POS screen on any device already at the counter, so there is nothing to buy or install. It works alongside any POS with no integration required. See /nfc-loyalty and /loyalty-app.
Pricing models
SumUp Connect is sold as a monthly subscription. At the time of writing its pricing page lists standalone Connect packages and bundles that include a SumUp POS, with more messaging and promotions in the higher tier, and mentions a money-back guarantee rather than a free plan or trial. That is a hardware-plus-service model, and the price reflects it. Check their current pricing page before you decide.
Sopoints has a permanent free plan with no credit card and no contract that includes the points engine, customer app and wallet cards. Paid plans add multi-location, advanced campaigns, SMS and priority support. Canadian merchants are billed in CAD and US merchants in USD, and Stripe handles payments in both. If you later need multi-location or SMS you move up a plan rather than buying hardware. Current plans are at /pricing.
Messaging, waitlist and payments
SumUp Connect's AutoPilot sends texts, push and email automatically after a first visit or when a customer has lapsed, with AI-written suggestions, and its page states it is TCPA compliant with opt-out in every message. Sopoints automates scheduled bonus points, happy hour, birthday offers and win-back messages; SMS is on paid plans, consent boxes are unticked by default and STOP replies are honoured automatically.
SumUp Connect's public pages do not mention a waitlist or reservations. Sopoints includes a digital waitlist, reservations with deposits and no-show fees, kiosk mode and an embeddable widget on the same account.
SumUp sells card readers and a POS, and Connect can be bundled with its POS. Sopoints Scan & Pay is a QR payment: the customer scans your code and pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay in the Sopoints app, earns points on the same transaction, and the money settles to your Stripe account with no terminal.
SumUp Connect's customer directory builds purchase profiles automatically, but its pages do not mention exporting that data. Sopoints exports the full customer list including balances on every plan, and imports one with balances when you switch.
The SumUp Connect pages we read are the US edition. If you are in Canada, confirm availability with SumUp. Sopoints serves both countries today.
When Fivestars (SumUp Connect) is the right choice
Choose SumUp Connect if you want the classic phone-number loyalty experience on a customer-facing screen with hands-off automated texting, if you are buying or already using a SumUp POS and want loyalty in the same bundle, or if being promoted on the screens of nearby Fivestars businesses is the kind of exposure you want. Its AutoPilot messaging is mature and the join flow is about as low-friction as counter loyalty gets.
Choose Sopoints if you want to start for free without hardware, want points that customers can actually spend across other participating merchants rather than only see your name promoted, need a waitlist and reservations with deposits alongside loyalty, want QR payments with points on the same transaction, want data export guaranteed on every plan, or operate in Canada. If you are in the US, your own program works fully from day one and the Sopoints network is growing city by city.
Sopoints vs Fivestars (SumUp Connect) at a glance
Based on publicly available information at the time of writing - verify current details with each vendor.
| Capability | Fivestars (SumUp Connect) | Sopoints |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No - monthly packages, money-back guarantee | Yes - permanent free plan |
| Program model | Your program, promoted on nearby Fivestars screens | Coalition - shared points spendable across merchants |
| Hardware required | Customer-facing screen; hardware in higher package | None - any device you own |
| Customer identification | Phone number at checkout, text-to-join | Phone number, QR scan, NFC tap |
| Digital wallet cards | Not on public pages - confirm with vendor | Apple Wallet and Google Wallet |
| SMS marketing | Yes - AutoPilot texts, push, email | Yes - on paid plans |
| Waitlist & reservations | Not on public pages | Yes - included, with deposits |
| QR payments | No - SumUp card readers and POS instead | Yes - Scan & Pay via Stripe |
| Data export | Not on public pages - confirm with vendor | All plans, incl. point balances |
| Countries | US pages - confirm Canada with vendor | Canada (CAD) and United States (USD) |
Sopoints vs Fivestars (SumUp Connect) FAQ
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