Cardly — Help Guide

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One page per screen, every Setting explained, annotated screenshots. Start here if you're new to Cardly or want to learn what the app can really do.

Getting Started

Cardly keeps your loyalty, membership, and gift cards in one place, ready for when you reach the checkout. There is no account to create — add a card and you are away.

To add your first card:

  1. Start adding a card from your wallet. The camera opens with a scan frame.
  2. Line the barcode on the back of your card up inside the frame. Cardly reads it automatically.
  3. If it will not scan, choose Enter manually and type the number in instead.
  4. Give the card a name, choose whether it is a rewards card or a gift card, and pick a colour so it stands out in your wallet.
  5. Save. The card appears in your wallet straight away.

Your cards are private — only you can see them. Nothing is uploaded to us.

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Showing a Card at the Checkout

Scan Mode is the screen you use at the register. It fills the display with the barcode on a dark backdrop so the scanner can read it easily, and shows the card number, PIN, and remaining balance underneath when the card has them.

If you have both a rewards card and a gift card for the same shop, chips at the top let you flip between them without leaving the screen — scan your rewards card for the points, then flip to the gift card to pay. You can also swipe sideways between them; the dots under the card show which one you are on.

Cardly turns your screen brightness up to maximum while the barcode is showing, so you do not have to.

A few things that help the scanner:

  • Hold the phone flat and still, a little way above the scanner glass.
  • Wipe the screen — smudges and glare are the usual culprits.
  • If all else fails, the card number is on screen, so the cashier can key it in.

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Card Types

Cardly comes with four card types:

  • Rewards — loyalty cards you scan to collect points.
  • Gift — prepaid and gift cards, which also carry a PIN and a balance.
  • Member — membership cards.
  • Other — anything else.

You choose the type when you add a card, and you can change it later by editing the card. The type decides how the card behaves — Gift is the only one that adds a PIN and a balance — and which group the card sits in on your wallet.

You are not limited to those four. Under Settings › Card Types you can rename them, drag them into the order you want your wallet grouped, and add types of your own for anything else you carry.

A gift card can also be linked to one of your rewards cards — handy when a shop has both, so they sit together and you can flip between them in Scan Mode.

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Tracking Gift Card Balances

Open a gift card and you will see what is left on it, how much it started with, and a progress bar showing how far through it you are. If the card has an expiry date, that is shown too, so a card does not quietly run out of time in a drawer.

After you spend on a gift card, update the balance so it stays accurate. Your wallet shows the remaining amount on the card tile, so you can see what is left at a glance without opening anything.

If the card has a PIN, Cardly keeps it with the card so you are not hunting for the scratch panel at the till.

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Organising Your Wallet

Your wallet groups cards into sections — starred Favourites at the top, then your rewards cards and gift cards. Star the cards you use most and they stay within reach instead of being scrolled past.

Each card can have its own colour, so you learn to spot them by sight. You can also add a photo of the card, which helps when several cards look alike or when the shop name on the card is not the name you think of it by.

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Home Screen Shortcuts

Cardly can put a card straight onto your phone’s home screen, so it is one tap away without opening the app first.

Open the card you want, then tap the shortcut icon in the top bar — it sits next to the favourite star. Android adds an icon for that card to your home screen.

Tap that icon and the card opens directly in Scan Mode, barcode up and ready. For the card you scan most often, that turns using it into a single tap from the home screen.

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Home Screen Widgets

Widgets put a card on your home screen so it is visible without opening Cardly at all. They sit alongside shortcuts, which are a different thing — a shortcut is an icon that opens a card, a widget shows the card itself.

Add one the usual Android way: press and hold an empty part of your home screen, choose Widgets, find Cardly, and drag the one you want into place.

Cardly includes several widgets. One is available on the free version; the rest are part of Premium and show a locked tile until you buy it.

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Backup and Restore

Your wallet goes with the device it was set up on. Cardly can back it up to your own Google Drive so you can put it back after a reset, or move it across when you change phones.

You will find Backup in Settings. The backup goes directly between your phone and your Google Drive account — we never see it, and you can delete it from Drive whenever you like.

It is worth taking a backup once you have added your cards, and again whenever you add a few more.

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Security and Privacy

Cardly can be locked behind your device’s biometrics — fingerprint, face, or your PIN or pattern — so your card numbers and gift balances are not open to anyone who picks up your phone. Turn it on under Security in Settings.

On privacy, the short version:

  • There are no accounts, so there is nothing for us to hold.
  • Your cards, numbers, PINs, and balances are private — only you can see them.
  • We don’t track your shopping. Cardly has no connection to the shops whose cards you store, so what you buy, where you buy it, and what you spend are not visible to us.
  • There is no third-party advertising. The free version shows one built-in card promoting our own apps, and nothing more.
  • The only copy that goes anywhere else is a Google Drive backup, if you choose to make one — and that goes to your Drive, not to us.

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Premium

Cardly is free to use, with no limit on how many cards you keep. Premium is a one-time purchase, not a subscription, and it unlocks:

  • Unlimited gift cards — with linking and balances
  • Google Drive backup and restore
  • Home-screen widgets
  • Biometric / PIN app lock
  • No ads — removes the built-in card promoting our other apps

On the free version you can keep as many rewards, membership and other cards as you like, plus one gift card — and that gift card is fully usable: you can link it to a rewards card and track its balance. Premium is what lifts the limit on gift cards.

You buy Premium once and keep it. There is nothing to renew and nothing to cancel. The price is shown on the Premium screen in your own currency; payment and any refund request are handled by Google Play, and we never see your payment details.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need an account to use Cardly?

No. There is nothing to sign up for. Add a card and start using it — your wallet is yours alone.

Q: Does Cardly work without an internet connection?

Yes. Cardly does not need a connection to show your cards, so they work with no signal — which matters, because checkout queues are exactly where reception tends to disappear.

Q: The scanner will not read my card. What can I do?

Choose Enter manually when adding the card and type the number from the card instead. This also covers cards whose barcode is worn, damaged, or too small to read.

Q: The shop’s scanner will not read my phone screen.

Cardly already turns the brightness up for you. Wipe the screen and hold the phone flat and steady above the scanner. Some older scanners struggle with screens generally — the card number is shown on screen, so the cashier can key it in instead.

Q: Can Cardly store the PIN for a gift card?

Yes. Gift cards can hold a PIN alongside the barcode, and it is shown on the Scan Mode screen so you are not scratching at the back of a card at the till.

Q: What does it mean when a gift card is linked to a rewards card?

It ties the two cards for the same shop together, so they sit alongside each other and you can flip between them in Scan Mode — scan the rewards card for points, then the gift card to pay.

Q: How do I move my cards to a new phone?

Back your wallet up to Google Drive on the old phone, then install Cardly on the new one, sign in to the same Google account, and restore. See Backup and Restore.

Q: Is my card data sent to your servers?

No. Your cards, card numbers, PINs, and balances are private — only you can see them. We have no accounts and no servers holding your wallet. The only copy that goes anywhere else is a Google Drive backup, if you choose to make one, and that goes to your Drive, not to us.

Q: Can I add a photo of a card?

Yes. A photo helps when several cards look similar, or when the name printed on the card is not what you call it.

Q: What should I do when a gift card is used up?

Set its balance to zero. With Archive spent gift cards turned on in Settings, Cardly files it away automatically — it leaves your wallet but stays searchable. You can still delete it outright if you would rather.

Q: Is Premium a subscription?

No. Premium is a one-time purchase — you buy it once and keep it. There is nothing to renew and nothing to cancel. If you need a refund, that is handled by Google Play under their refund policy.

Q: My card has no barcode at all — can I still add it?

Yes. Add it manually and record the number, and add a photo of the card if that is what the shop actually looks at.

Need More Help?

Email us at: woohoosoftware@gmail.com