Frequently asked questions
FAQ.
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For customers
What is Visit?
A rewards network across independent local businesses rather than a loyalty scheme for one shop. You link a payment card once, and the places you already go start earning you points. Points are earned anywhere on the network and build one balance, which you spend in the Visit marketplace.
Do I have to check in, scan a code, or open the app?
No. A qualifying purchase on your linked card is the visit. There is nothing to present at the counter and nothing to remember.
Does Visit use my location?
It asks for your location to put you on the map and show what is near you. That is what it is for. It is never how a visit is counted: a visit comes from a card transaction at a participating business, not from where your phone has been.
Can a business see what I spend?
No. A business never sees your transactions: not what you bought, not when, not for how much. There is no line in there naming a person and a coffee on a Tuesday. What a business sees is its own numbers in aggregate, along the lines of visits being up about seven percent this month, and the size of groups it can send a reward to. Working out who belongs in a group happens on Visit’s side, not theirs.
Why does Visit need a card at all?
Because the card is what makes a visit count itself. A qualifying purchase at a business on the network is the visit, and that is why there is nothing to scan, nothing to show and nothing to remember. Cards are linked through Plaid.
Can I use Visit without linking a card?
No. The linked card is what makes a visit a visit. Without it there is nothing to count, and nothing to tell a real visit apart from someone saying they went.
Can I unlink my card?
Yes, whenever you like. Unlinking stops new visits being recorded from that card.
Do cash purchases count?
No. Visit does not follow cash transactions, and a receipt will never count toward a visit no matter how it is submitted. If it did not happen on your linked card, it did not happen as far as Visit is concerned.
Where can I spend what I earn?
In the Visit marketplace. Points earned anywhere on the network land in one balance rather than being stuck to the shop that gave them to you, and the marketplace is where you spend it. Most of what is in there is gift cards put up by the businesses on the network; once in a while it is something else entirely, like tickets to a game. A business can also set a milestone reward that arrives on its own, without you spending anything.
Who can see where I have been?
You decide what Visit shares and who can see it, and the controls sit in the app rather than buried in a settings page. Full detail is in the privacy policy at joinvisit.co/privacy.
Which businesses are on Visit?
Visit opens with a founding group of independent Boston businesses, including Publico Restaurant, Southie Candlepin, Brighton House of Pizza, The Dirty Italian. There are partners in South Boston, Brighton, Back Bay, Seaport, North End, Milton, South End and Dorchester so far. More sign every week.
What if I go somewhere outside Boston?
The network is Boston, and so are the rewards. That is on purpose rather than a gap: Visit exists to put money back into local businesses, which only works where those businesses are. You can still look further afield through the maps people share publicly, but they lean heavily Boston, because that is where everyone using it is.
Do I get anything for joining the waitlist?
Yes. Everyone on the waitlist gets a $5 welcome reward toward their first visit at a participating business in Boston, once Visit launches and they link a card.
When can I use it?
Visit launches in Boston in Fall 2026 on iOS and Android. It is not live yet, so there is nothing to claim today.
For business owners
What does Visit cost?
Every launch partner runs Visit for Business free for the first 6 months. After that, Starter and Growth are both $99 a month per location, and Custom is priced for multi-location programs. Growth and Custom also carry a 3% performance fee that applies only when Visit brings in a customer who was not already yours, and only after the sale. Starter has a 0% performance fee. Starter includes a limited view of Visit Intelligence; Growth and Custom include the full version. There is never a charge for impressions, clicks, or the regulars who were coming anyway.
What does Visit put in?
Visit purchases gift cards from every launch partner to fund consumer rewards: $1,500 on Starter and up to $6,000 on Growth. Those rewards bring people through your door without coming out of your pocket.
What is in the launch kit?
Starter partners get the standard kit: a door or window sticker, table and register signs, an optional TV leaderboard, and launch support. Growth and Custom partners get a kit branded to the venue. The QR code on the signs is how customers get the app. It is not a check-in: visits still count from the linked card.
How does my business join Visit?
Enroll at joinvisit.co/enroll. It takes a minute: the business, its address and category, and how to reach you. The founders follow up about launch enrollment. Launch partners run Visit for Business free for 6 months, and Visit purchases $1,500 or more in gift cards from each one to fund rewards. Founding enrollment closes November 15, 2026.
Do I need new hardware or a different point of sale?
No. Visit works with any POS and there is nothing to install on your counter. That is the whole point of a card-linked system: the payment you already accept is the thing that records the visit.
What do my staff have to do?
Nothing. There is no code to scan, no app to open, and no question to ask at the register. A customer pays the way they always did and the visit counts itself, so there is no new step to train anyone on and nothing to forget on a busy shift.
When exactly am I charged?
The $99 monthly price per location starts after your 6 free months. On Growth and Custom, the 3% performance fee is charged after the sale, and only on a customer who was not already yours. If Visit brings back a regular who has been coming to you for years, that is free.
What can I actually see about my customers?
Your own performance in aggregate, and groups you can act on. You see how your visits and revenue are trending, and you see counts: how many regulars have lapsed, how many people who go to similar spots nearby have never walked in, how many are spending less with you than they used to. That comes from verified card spend across the whole network rather than only your own register, which is why it can count people your till never could. You send a reward to a group rather than to a name. What you never see is an individual customer’s transactions.
How is this different from a punch card or a branded loyalty app?
Visit keeps the part of a punch card that works, which is a reward for going back to the same shop, and drops the card: the shop sets a milestone and it fires on its own, with nothing to carry or hand over. What a punch card cannot do is anything beyond its own counter, and it gets less valuable every time another one lands in a wallet. On top of the per-shop reward, points are earned at every participating business into a single balance, so every shop that joins is one more place that balance grows.
How is this different from local advertising?
Local ads charge for attention. Yelp and Google bill you per click whether or not anyone walks through the door. Visit counts visits that actually happened, from real card transactions, and any performance fee is charged after the sale and only when the customer was new to you.
When does it start, and what if I want to stop?
Visit launches in Boston in Fall 2026. Launch partners run Visit for Business free for 6 months, and you can cancel anytime before billing starts.
About Visit
Where does Visit operate?
Boston first, launching Fall 2026, opening with a founding group of Boston businesses and more signing every week. Launch partners so far are in South Boston, Brighton, Back Bay, Seaport, North End, Milton, South End and Dorchester.
Is Visit a discount or coupon site?
No. Nothing is bought up front, there is no voucher to redeem, and there is no code to enter. Rewards are funded by the businesses and by Visit rather than by a discount reseller, which is why they can be worth something to both sides.