Why Mobile Wallet Passes

Mobile is taking an ever greater role in customers lives! All Mobile tools are key assets of a mobile strategy, but Mobile Wallet Passes have been gaining their momentum.

Apple Wallet Pass

“Mobile is one of the key assets that helps drive store growth. It allows to better understand and help our clients. It’s only going to strengthen the store experience, especially if you focus it and have the right mobile experiences to supplement the in-store experience.”

Mobile Wallet Passes are a great solution for companies to implement as part of their mobile strategy, being highly cost-effective and time-effective, while improving customer experience across all touchpoints and driving engagement.

Here are 10 reasons why every company needs to implement Mobile Wallet Passes as part of their mobile strategy.

⇒ Take advantage of native Apps

Reach prospects that don’t have your App installed through Mobile Wallet Passes in native Apps, such as Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Build programs that “live” inside your customers smartphone.

⇒ Don’t depend on the App stores approval process

Approval processes mandated by App stores are long process on the launch and an ongoing to maintain an App. Mobile Wallet Passes enables to be inside your customer smartphone in seconds in an easy process.

⇒ Easy to install a Mobile Wallet Pass

A Mobile Wallet Pass can be easily distributed by sending and email or an SMS with a url link, by printing or embedding a QR code on a paper or website, or even sending the .pkpass file as an attachment.

Passworks Platform_Add Pass copy

⇒ Build a single Wallet Pass compatible with both iOS and Android

Passworks mobile wallet platform enables companies to design and built a single Wallet Pass that is compatible with both Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and can be install in a unique link.

⇒ Mobile Wallet Pass content can be updated in real-time

With real-time multiple content, value and look & feel updates, you have the opportunity to establish an on-going conversation with your consumers, in order to keep them always up-to-date.

⇒ Send Push notification with automatic lock screen access

Mobile Wallet Passes make it easier to reach with your customers directly on their mobile lock screen. Engage in a convenient and relevant way: send messages to promote offers, make reminders and inform updates directly to your consumers’ smartphone, giving you the chance to be on your consumers’ top-of-mind.

⇒ Trigger location-based notifications

Take the advantage of the location-based technology by defining geo-based and beacons-based messages which will be triggered when passing by your store or a specific and strategic location.

⇒ Cut down on development time

With Passworks “do-it-yourself” platforms, companies can design and build a Mobile Wallet pass in minutes. Even for more complex functionalities, Passworks team is available to provide all support need to launch a Mobile Wallet campaign easily. Compare this go-to-market speed to the 3 to 12 months that can take to build an App.

⇒ Reduce development costs

Developing an App can cost your business anywhere from 20k€ to unlimited. On top of the initial development cost, there is an annual maintenance cost of around 25% of the initial cost. On the other side, Mobile Wallet passes cost a fraction of the App development cost and has a high level of engagement and retention rates.

⇒ Free up mobile storage space

Smartphone users constantly find themselves looking to free up space, and think of which App to delete. Each App takes up an average of 34 MBs on your phone, while Wallet passes is less than 10 KB. Users are much less likely to delete a Wallet Pass than an App.

Additionally, Mobile Wallet Passes are also a driver to companies digital transformation, eliminating paper coupons, replacing plastic loyalty or membership cards, and reducing their carbon footprints. On top of being highly cost and time effective, Mobile Wallets Passes provide an amazing customer engagement experience and delivery value to the brands.

Want to know more about Mobile Wallets Passes and Passworks? Contact us today and let’s talk!

Mobile Wallets Explained

We believe that Mobile Wallets are one of the most exciting opportunity to engage with customers via mobile. Mobile Wallets explained tries to answer what mobile wallet is all about.

What is a Mobile Wallet?

A Mobile Wallet is a virtual wallet that stores payment cards information or other generic cards on a mobile device. Mobile Wallets are a convenient way for a customer to make in-store payments and interact with retailers point-of-sale systems.

What are the main Mobile Wallets platforms?

Apple Wallet and Google Pay (formerly Google Wallet / Android Pay) are the two main mobile wallets platforms. Both Apple and Google have made significant investments in building their ecosystems in the last several years.

Both Apple Wallet and Google Pay offer similar capabilities, like the ability to store credit cards to make mobile payments and also the ability to store non-payment passes, such as digital event tickets, loyalty cards, boarding passes and much more. There are some differences between the wallets, such as the type of passes that can be created in each platform and how notifications are managed.

One of the big advantage of Apple Wallet and Google Pay is leveraging the ecosystem that already lives inside iOS and Android phone, and bypassing the need to install another App.

Much more than Mobile Payments!

Mobile Wallets, such as Apple Wallet and Google Pay, are changing how we interact with our phone by implementing mobile wallet functionalities that go beyond payments. The ability to transform the physical billfold to a fully digital wallet with the ability to store coupons, loyalty cards, boarding passes or even tickets, provide business and brands an easy way to reach their customer on mobile and engage in real-time.

What is Mobile Wallet Pass?

Mobile Wallet Pass is also referred as Mobile Wallet Card, Digital Wallet Pass, Digital Wallet Card, Wallet Pass or Wallet Card, and describes the content or information in the form of the non-payment item that can be stored in the Apple Wallet or Google Pay. The best explanation is to think that a Mobile Wallet Pass as the digital equivalent of all thee everyday things included in a physical wallet like loyalty cards, coupons, business cards, tickets and more.

The 5 mobile wallet passes are Event Tickets, Coupons, Generic Cards, Store Cards and Boarding Passes, that can be applied to multiple use cases. The simplicity of the mobile wallet pass is one of its greatest appeals for a business and follows a basic layout for both Apple Wallet and Google Pay.

What are the most common Mobile Wallets use cases?

As previous mentioned, there are literally multiple use case where we can apply the benefits of having a mobile wallet pass. They can go from the classic store coupon or loyalty card, to a much more innovative way to reach and engage with consumers. The following list shows some examples of use cases.

Coupons
Membership or Club Card
Exclusive Card to access offers, promotions or content
Loyalty Card
Loyalty Reward Offer
Voucher
Giftcard
Alerts, Updates & Reminders Pass
Employee Card
Event Ticket

Wrap up!

Now you know what is a Mobile Wallet, the benefits and what it can do for your business. Mobile Wallet are great tool to surprise, engage and delight your customers.

Want to learn more about how Mobile Wallet can help you connect with customers at each stage of the customer lifecycle? Contact us today and let’s talk!

The growth of Mobile Wallets and the importance of having integrated loyalty programs

Mobile Wallets offer benefits to all stakeholders, both customers and merchants, by bringing to live mobile payments with enhanced security features while allowing a faster checkout, but also enhancing loyalty solutions.

Forecast US mobile in-store payment volume (Source: BI Intelligence´s 2016 Mobile Payments Report)

As expected, in-store mobile payments are growing and recent estimation finds that it will reach $75 billion this year and $503 billion by 2020.

Nevertheless, mobile payments still face some high barriers, but as loyalty programs are integrated and more consumers rely on their mobile wallets, adoption and usage will surge over the next years.

Consumers want more from their mobile wallets. The inclusive mobile wallet with features and services, on top of just debit and credit cards, is very appealing to consumers.

Top features consumers want for Mobile Wallets (Source: Urban Airship Report – UK and US Adults Q2 2016)

Loyalty or store cards and coupons are among the most desired features for mobile wallet users. 60% of users have used a loyalty card through a mobile wallet, and there is a high demand with two-thirds of users wanting to. Coupons, like the loyalty programs, are the second most desired feature with 53% claiming that have used them and 62% of customers wanting coupons on mobile wallets.

Apple Wallet mobile coupon

Integrated marketing tools such as loyalty programs and other add-on feature are key to drive mobile wallet adoption and usage. Consumers are showing interest in wallets with integrated loyalty programs.

HOW ANDROID PAY WORKS

Android Pay (previously named Google Wallet) is Google platform for payments using Android devices. It was initial launched in last quarter 2015 in the US, and currently we are seeing global roll-out with UK launch in May, Singapore and Australia in July and other countries already scheduled before the end of 2016.

The Android Pay platform consists in two main features, Payments and Passes. The first one allows you to use your device (with NFC technology enabled) for making payments by registering your bank cards into it. The second allows you to install mobile passes (Coupons, Membership Cards, etc) into your device’s wallet, as it already exists in the Apple Wallet. Currently, Passworks only allows to manage Passes.

Payments using Android Pay

Google started by launchingGoogle Wallet, with the idea that all features related with payments would be integrated into a single platform, however they probably saw a niche by separating the mobile payments (and mobile passes) into a new context which they called Android Pay.

If you happen to be in one of the places where Android Pay is already released, it should be very easy to start using the Payments solution, just need to confirm your bank support availability.

Just need to add your credit/debit card to the Android Pay App and you can start making payments in every NFC card reader available everywhere. Another great feature is that the app records all yours transactions and gives you a simple expenses manager, that, in the future, may become a great personal finances application with reports and budgets manager.

Mobile Passes for Android Pay

For Passworks the most interesting part is the possibility of creating and distributing what we call Passes or Cards. Android Pay support Loyalty Cards, Offers and Gift Cards.

You can either add them yourself, by taking any card with a barcode you have, as long as you have access for the number of the barcode, and add to your wallet or you can navigate into some merchant website and use the “Save to Android Pay” button.

The main idea behind you be allowed to add your own cards, is to allow to have a digital copy of them.

Adding Passes to the Wallet

You have two ways of adding mobile coupons to your Android Pay Wallet App.

The first is to create yourself, a digital copy of your existent cards (coupons, loyalty, membership, etc.) that holds one of the barcodes available. You just have to tap the + button inside the app and fill the details, simple like that.

Adding a new Pass

The other way is when a specific merchant uses the Android Pay API, directly or through a gateway (like us), generates their passes and make it available on their website, or distribute (by SMS, Email or other) using url linked to the Save to Pay button.

Save to Android Pay

After the passes are installed, you can (if locations were added) receive notifications when the device is nearby the specific location.

Using the Passes

In most cases, the action of redeeming or using some pass is basicaly to read the barcode using some reader (app or scanning device) and for the cases of mobile coupons generated by the merchant, it can also update the pass information after redeeming it.

LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION.

It’s all about location.

It is critical for brands to understand the consumer journey and what are the touch points during this path. These key moments represent the times when a consumer is more open to purchase or consume a certain product and when it becomes really relevant to deliver a call-to-action.

To know about those moments means collecting multiple data about the consumers and his behaviour. And knowing about their location means that the brands can connect and engage with the consumer at the right moment.

Location-enabled advertising is not a new concept but the different arrays of the technology and the proliferation of smartphones are only now allowing marketers to take full advantage of it.

Location data is playing an important asset for brands to connect with consumers in the real world, and the smartphone is being the key communication channel to deliver that engagement everywhere.

Pre-installed mobile wallets applications on smartphones, such as Apple Wallet or Android Pay, allow brands to reach their audience in a relevant and compelling way, giving the opportunity for marketers to benefit from mobile wallets as a new mobile marketing communication channel.

And one of the most interesting features of mobile wallets is the possibility to engage in real-time with the consumers using native location-based technology or by interacting with beacons. Marketers can specify strategic locations or associate beacons to the mobile wallet, in order to trigger location-based notifications directly to the consumer smartphone.

Learn more and try to create your own location-based mobile wallet marketing campaigns with a free Passworks trial.

APPLE WALLET NEWS WITH IOS 9.3

Apple just launched the new version of the operating system: iOS 9.3. Despite not being spoken on March 2016 Apple event there were small changes/improvements on Apple Wallet.

App Icon

Apple Wallet has been an amazing channel for brands to engage with their customers and one of the features was allowing brands to promote their App at the back of their passes.

With the new iOS 9.3, if a brand integrates the App with the pass, the App icon will also appear on the bottom left of the front of the pass where previously was the share icon

If you tap on the icon one of two things will happen; if the App is already install it will automatically open, otherwise you will be directed to the App store to download the App.

Share Link

Since the begging of Apple Wallet on the bottom left corner of the pass there was share icon. By tapping on that icon users were allowed to share their pass via message, mail or airdrop.

In iOS 9.3, and covered by previous point, the share icon has been removed and now appears on the back of the pass as a link right bellow the Automatic Updates and Suggest on Lock Screen.

HOW TO DELIVER A PASS INTO YOUR CUSTOMER MOBILE WALLET?

A Mobile Wallet Pass can take the form of a membership card, a boarding pass, a coupon, an event ticket, a store card and others.

It is really easy for a customer to install a Mobile Wallet Pass. The most common ways to distribute it are shown below.

EMAIL

You can distribute your mobile pass by sending an email to your customers with the url link, a .pkpass file or the QR code of the mobile pass to be scanned.

SMS

Communicate the url link of your pass via a text message.

MARKETING MATERIALS

Insert the QR code of your pass on your marketing materials for customers to install the pass directly into the mobile wallet, once they scan it.

WEBSITE

Enable customers to install your mobile pass directly from your website by adding a add to wallet button (mobile) or a QR code to be scanned (desktop).

MOBILE APP

Allow your customer to store a mobile pass directly from your mobile app.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Integrate and communicate your pass from mobile social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter

On-Going Conversation & Customer Engagement

Mobile Wallets allow to start on-going conversations with your customers by managing the wallet pass. With the ability to do real-time pass updates, you can refresh the content of the pass frequently according to your brand strategy, so your customers always have an up-to-date pass and keep it on their mobile device indefinitely.

Paez, an international Argentinian shoes brand, provides exclusive value to their customers through Paez mobile wallet pass.

Paez first mobile wallet pass

Paez wallet pass is regularly updated to communicate new campaigns and deals, while giving Paez a powerful on-going mobile engagement channel and the ability to amplify an offer when it real counts. In this way, Paez is giving to their customers the opportunity to get the most value of their shopping experience.

Mobile wallets are proving to be a great tool to improve customer experience and delivering sales growth. Paez is already on-board with happy customer and great results!

SMARTPHONE USERS WANT REAL-TIME PROMOTIONS

Mobile is fast changing the retail landscape, specially when it comes to real-time promotions. Accenture^* surveyed more than 10.000 adult smartphones users worldwide, who shopped both in-store and digitally for the past 3 months.

Consumers use their smartphone when shopping and receiving real-time promotions is one of top smartphone retail services they desire.

Nearly half of smartphone user worldwide said they can´t wait to receive real-time promotions from retailer on their smartphone device. Also, 42% said they want the ability to credit coupons and discounts automatically.

Despite the majority of the respondents mentioned they want to receive real-time promotions, the fact is that only 7% of worldwide retailers are offer that service to their consumers.

Retailers understand the benefits of higher mobile engagement and Mobile wallets are one of the methods that retailers can have to give to their customers what they want. With Mobile Wallets, such as Apple Wallet or Android Pay, retailers can send to their customers’ real-time promotions and offers without the need for an App.

By taking advantage of the non-payment side of Mobile Wallets, the retailers can create a Perpetual Coupon that once is installed on the smartphone opens a real-time communication channel between the retailer and customer.

The Coupon can be updated in real-time with new promotions or offers according to the retailers’ strategy.
Directly send a notification to the customer´s lock screen alerting them of the new promotion.
Creates geo-fences and/or beacons that tie for a more personalized experience.

^* Source: Accenture February 2016 “Retail customers are shouting – Are you adapting?”