Check-ins are all the rage: Foursquare? Check. Yelp? Check.

Add a new app from Cleveland’s SparkBase to that list. Paycloud, released here in January, looks to skip a few squares ahead by merging the key-ring loyalty card with its own check-in app.

“The complaint over and over again by consumers and merchants is that the plastic piece of that equation is kind of a pain in the butt,” says Doug Hardman, founder and CEO of the loyalty rewards and promotions processing company. “We developed Paycloud to help fix that.”

People are responding, with about 100 downloads occurring every day. Merchants, meanwhile, can use a website to track how many people look at their loyalty cards and how many view it within a mile of their stores or even in their stores. “We can give them some really neat data that shows there’s more to the program than just the interaction at the point-of-sale,” Hardman says.

So far, about 500 merchants have signed on with Paycloud. Here’s how three local companies are using the mobile app.

Quintana’s Barber & Dream Spa,
Cleveland Heights:
“We use it in two different ways,” says owner Alex Quintana. “When you come in and spend $200, you get $20 back. Our basic haircuts are $20, so it’s like buying 10 cuts and getting the 10th one for free. We also have an opt-in offer for first-time clients that’s 50 percent off your first service.”

Barroco Grill,
Lakewood:
“When [a customer] checks in 10 times, they get a free sandwich,” says owner Juan Vergara. “One of the tools that I like the most is every time a customer signs up, you have their email. That way you can market to them with any future promotions. So far it’s worked out, and it’s a pretty cool concept.”

Wine Spot,
Cleveland Heights:
“We’ve got a check-in prize,” says owner Adam Fleischer. “If someone comes [and] checks into our store on Paycloud five times, they get a free T-shirt. We’re trying to get people just to seek us out and walk in the door. There’s a value in them just seeing us. We also post events on there, like wine tastings.”

- NEONow

Popularity:
This record has been viewed 281 times.