Apple's Passbook: 3-Month Checkup

Published December 7, 2012 12:02 PM

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Updated October 20, 2016 10:53 AM

1 Min Read

An Apple Inc. iPhone 5 is seen on display inside the Apple store at the Gran Plaza 2 shopping mall in Majadahonda, near Madrid, Spain, on Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Apple said it is working to catch up with demand, "We are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible," Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in a statement. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg

Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg

(Image: Bloomberg News)

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What Is Passbook?

Passbook allows bar code-based gift cards, event tickets and other items to display on the phone's lock screen based on the time or location they're needed. (Image: ThinkStock)

Customers purchase the new Apple Inc. iPhone 5 in New York, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Apple Inc. is poised for a record iPhone 5 debut and may not be able to keep up with demand as customers lined up in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris and New York to pick up the latest model of its top-selling product. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Slow Support

There were a few supporters of Passbook at its launch but Apple wasn't one of them. Apple waited until November to add Passbook-supported e-gift cards to its own mobile shopping app. (Image: Bloomberg News)

A Starbucks Corp., sign is displayed outside a coffee shop in London, U.K., on Thursday, Dec, 1, 2011. Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee-shop operator, plans to add 200 more drive-through stores across the U.K. in an expansion that will create 5,000 jobs. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Caffeine Kick

Starbucks was also a somewhat late addition to the Passbook wallet. Though Starbucks is a mobile-pay pioneer, it waited until October to switch on Passbook support for its mobile app.(Image: Bloomberg News)

American Express Co. corporate credit cards are arranged for a photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Oct. 17, 2011. American Express Co. is scheduled to report third-quarter results after the close of U.S. financial markets on Oct. 19. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Taking the Express

American Express didn't waste any time. The company unveiled a Passbook-compatible app in September, the same month Passbook launched. (Image: Bloomberg News)

Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter Inc. and chief executive officer of Square Inc., speaks during a television interview in New York, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 25, 2010. Square's mobile-payment technology allows smartphone users to make credit card payments and the availability of funding for new ventures. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Jack Dorsey

Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Rivals?

Square and Lemon seem to offer competing products, but they've finally joined the Passbook party. Lemon updated its wallet app to support Passbook on Dec. 8, and Square updated its Square Register app for Passbook support on Dec. 9. Pictured: Square's Jack Dorsey (Image: Bloomberg News)

two knights fighting

Alena Yakusheva/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Guarded Approach

BillGuard offers a version of its anti-fraud service to Passbook users. It also supports the Lemon wallet, which runs on Apple devices and which BillGuard says is a "more robust" app. (Image: ThinkStock)

A man carries Macy's Inc. shopping bags while walking through the Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 12. 2012. Sales at U.S. retailers probably fell in October for the first time in four months economists said before a report on Nov. 14. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Kicking Off

The mobile rewards provider shopkick doesn't do payments directly, but rather partners with retailers such as Macy's to reward shoppers the moment they enter a store. In December, shopkick added Passbook support for mobile rewards redemption. (Image: Bloomberg News)

close-up of a cash register in a store

Ciaran Griffin/Getty Images

Sales Potential

The independent sales organization Merchant Warehouse said in September it would allow its merchant clients to accept payments from Passbook apps. (Image: ThinkStock)

The Google Inc. Mobile Wallet application for cardless payment is displayed on a smartphone screen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. The Mobile World Congress, operated by the GSMA, expects 60,000 visitors and 1400 companies to attend the four-day technology industry event which runs Feb. 27 through March 1. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Not Invited

Looking for more full-featured payment apps like Isis or Google Wallet? Those don't run on iPhones, so there's no way to put them in Passbook.(Image: Bloomberg News)

Payment processing

Mobile payments

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