American Express Pass: AmEx’s Passbook app provides real-time communication between the consumer and credit card company, including up-to-the-second
information on transactions and balances. Being able to offer cardholders that kind of access—in an entirely secure way—is quite revolutionary, even though one can’t actually use the service to make payments yet. Passbook integration also allows AmEx users to obtain relevant flight information, store coupons, and access
movie tickets based on location. The AmEx Pass is still in the early experimental phase, but aims to become a companion app that customers will rely on daily. With cardholders
currently checking their account summaries about 30 million times a month, that goal should be easy to achieve.
Sephora Beauty Insider: Sephora’s loyalty program, which boasts more than 11 million members, is a remarkably successful initiative, so it’s no surprise that its Passbook extension is seeing similar results. The
Beauty Insider card was added to the Passbooks of 17,000 users on the very first day that iOS 6 was released; within just one week, the number jumped to 87,000. The integration gives users direct access to their points balances to learn which deals and samples they can cash in on, and allows them to present their phones—rather than physical cards—to redeem points while shopping in-store. Sephora gift card recipients can also use it to immediately spend their credit straight from their Passbook.
Gyft: Gyft is a digital gift card platform that allows users to buy, save, redeem, and share gift cards in one seamless app. Aiming to take the
plastic gift card industry mobile, it seamlessly integrates with Facebook, Twitter, email, and SMS, allowing users to send and receive gifts with ease. However, the basis of the app isn't so much about
social gifting—though one can purchase and give gifts through the app—as it is about revolutionizing the gift card. Recent integration with Passbook has made the app even more effortless to use, as it now offers instant access to more than
200 retailers who have signed on for the service.
