Mikey Campbell
Apple will reportedly be rolling out changes to existing EasyPay point-of-sale system to include payments from Passbook by the end of October, finally bringing support for the iOS 6 feature to the company's brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
A person familiar with Apple's retail operations said the company recently replaced the specialized iPod touch EasyPay cases with a new version, granting access to the device's camera to allow for the scanning of customers' Passbook barcodes, reports TUAW.
The source went on to say that Passbook users will likely be limited to using prepaid gift cards when the purported service launches, though Apple may one day choose to implement a system in which users can add funds to a dedicated Apple Store digital card.
A similar solution is already being used by Starbucks, which essentially brings the reloadable "Starbucks card" from the coffee company's existing iOS app into Passbook. It should be noted, however, that users of the system cannot recharge their card within Passbook, making the feature less useful than Starbuck's own app.
When Apple's head of iOS development Scott Forstall outlined Passbook at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, an Apple Store card was clearly highlighted, however support failed to materialize when the feature debuted with iOS 6.
Apple Store card seen in Passbook demonstration.
As Passbook slowly gains compatibility with major retailers, the ticket, gift card and pass repository is expected to become more robust, giving users a hub to store all their barcode-based assets.
As an example of the service's potential, it was reported last week that Major League Baseball saw 1,500 e-ticket buyers choose to have their tickets delivered to Passbook. The initial run included games for four teams, with 12 percent of all e-ticket holders opting to receive Passbook-enabled versions of their passes.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
6 Comments
I don't know why are they so slow (the implementation of it) whether from Apple-develop apps/services or developers or retailers given that; it uses barcode and/or it is software-based and not requiring extra HW on either parties. I still yet to see any (in the UK anyway). The water may be too shallow for the toe to be dipped in properly. Maybe I need to get out more - that's it.
I agree. Why wasn't the Apple Store App rolled out with iOS 6 and passbook. So little was ready to use with it, the least Apple could have done was offer their own compatibility with it, if nothing else to give Apple customers a working example of how great it could be. As it was, it was just another black eye during the first week, with very few services people actually use ready to roll, customers confused about what it did and why they should use it ... I'm thrilled to see MLB has become so enamored of it, the positive PR really helps fix this initial oversight.
But when are they coming out with passbook for IPAD
I don't know why they don't link the barcode directly to our iTunes associated credit card. The whole 'card loading' thing is a needless pain in the ass.
What's passbook? I have the app on my phone but there's a whopping 7 apps that participate. What is this- google? Great idea and poor execution. Get with it- I still have a best buy gift card I'd love to be in passbook- that's the idea, right?