2013 - Not the Year of Mobile Wallet But Better Luck Next Year

By Kam Taitt

Passbook is a stand-alone feature, but it can also be used in tandem with other marketing tactics such as the following:

SMS reminders to target consumers about relevant sales based on what cards are in their wallet;
alerts users of their card balances and expiring services; and
vendors can automatically provide new coupons to customers when they're in close proximity of their store.

5th Finger Account Manager Christina Park said the following in regards to Passbook: "The fact that Apple had a feature like Passbook as part of its iPhone 5 release validated to the masses that mobile wallets are not a trend. I personally had clients calling me immediately after the feature was announced about how best to integrate Passbook into their mobile couponing programs. A number of these same clients were hesitant to use existing mobile wallet technology. Apple helped … validation was the difference."