Apple's Passbook for iOS6: Bridging the Mind-to-Machine Gap

By Earl Johnson


Passbook Benefits for Consumers

With the latest software update, Apple dramatically increased the value, security and comfort that iPhone users enjoy by providing the iOS6 Passbook app to facilitate financial transactions both locally and globally. Whether boarding passes, store cards, tickets or coupons, your Passbook stores them securely in one central digital location. Add proximity-based information and details "push" service with all of these features accessible by Siri verbal commands and you will discover a virtual assistant who cares for you as well.

Passes from Passbook are Intelligent

It serves its purpose with time and location-based triggers. For example, you have bought football tickets from a ticket counter and stored them in Passbook. As you near the football stadium before the commencement of the game, your ticket will get displayed automatically on the mobile's screen. You can then get it scanned to enter into the stadium. Since Passbook passes can be updated in real time, it will be of great help to people who are traveling. You can receive flight or train information instantly. You can get the gate number where you need to proceed for boarding a train or a flight. It can also tell you the updated departure time of a flight or a train.

iOS6 Passbook will change the way businesses interact with customers and prospects. Even email pales in comparison. Businesses can now distribute their latest promotions to eager buyers instantly via Real Time Messaging. A restaurant or bar owner encumbered with excess inventory can boost his traffic during bad weather or on slow days. He can instantly send out coupons to the restaurant subscribers announcing a two-for-one special valid for that night only. The owner can then throw in a free dessert as well if the numbers aren't up to his expectations to further attract patrons.

Business Opportunities with Passbook Passes

The iOS6 Passbook helps businesses go green or even greener easily. Passbook Passes can help companies garner precious press mileage through campaigns geared towards highlighting efforts to curtail their carbon footprint. Eliminating the need for loyalty cards and printed coupons, the bad press and emissions surrounding paper products and paper waste are a thing of the past. With instant direct-to-phone electronic delivery of passes to customers, there is no need for mailing printed coupons any more. The added convenience of managing and tracking transactions cannot be beat either. Coupon codes can be linked directly to individual customers, business can not only know exactly which offer generated a specific traffic but also when a particular customer used a unique offer.

Passbook is not currently tied with credit card information so can't be treated as a complete mobile wallet yet. With its huge consumer base, Apple is poised to push Passbook to be used for mobile payments.

Making the Transition Seamless

Both businesses and consumers will benefit from Apple's Passbook service. Businesses can easily create and distribute Passbook passes, and even end-users can create their own passes. For this, PassPages has a convenient and easy system where a pass can be created and sent to a phone. End-users can store and organize their coupons and loyalty cards in the Passbook on their iPhones while businesses reap the added marketing opportunities through the Passbook platform.




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