Integrating Passbook with your iPhone App, Online Stores or Business

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All the suggestions below are assumptions based on the Preview. Please wait for an update with more accurate details once Passbook is public.

Apple says Your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more, all on your iPhone. The iOS6 preview for Passbook shows the following

1. Target - Maybe a coupon or Store credit

2. Frandango - Movie tickets I assume

3. Starbucks - Starbucks card (store credit as shown in detailed screen)

4. Amtrak Train pass

5. Apple Store (Coupons or Store Credit)

6. United - Boarding pass or tickets

7. MLB game tickets

8. W hotels - Check-in details

Scan iPhone or iPod touch to use the Passbook items.

Location and time based Passbook Notifications (Alert if you are in a wrong terminal - Not sure how this can be done - May be if you don't check-in on time)

Based on the above information from Apple lets go through how the Passbook integration with a Website or Business System would look

1. Integrating Coupons with Passbook (Movie tickets/Boarding pass/Tickets)

Coupons are usually alpha numeric code that would be used to either get a percentage discount, amount off or a free item.

Following may be the way to integrate coupons generated by your local system with Passbook

If a coupon generated by your system is Static image (barcode) that can be scanned or a number it might have to be exposed as a fixed format Service data (xml or json) with reference to barcode, content image and some text describing the Coupon.

2. Integrating Store Credit or Store Credit card with Passbook (Train Pass)

This would be a tricky integration with Passbook since the balance on the passbook item has to be updated as soon as it is used by the customer.

A dedicated Store Credit service has to be exposed so that Passbook can show the balance by calling the service (fixed format xml or json) at real time. Should have reference to barcode/scannable image and text.

The service has to be exposed from the server system supports POS that can scan the a image on the iPhone and can redeem the Store credit card.

How does the User get Items (Coupons/Tickets/Credit card) to his Passbook on his iPhone?

User might get his/her passbook items by clicking on a link on the Email or through iPhone App built for your system if it already exists in the App Store.

The structure of the link might be dictated to be in a certain standard so that the item is directly added to the Passbook. APIs might have been provided to integrate passbook with iPhone Apps.

How would location services/Store locations/Airport/Train stations would tie up with Passbook items?

This is still a mystery on how to notify iPhone user about proximity of Store/location related to a Passbook item.

They might be loosely coupled with the Maps based on Store locations and the Organization it belongs to. It might not be true for items such Boarding passes, hotel check-in etc.,.

Please contact me at mouli@gingercart.com for questions or concerns.

The above blog is written based on assumptions on the Preview. Please visit Apple's website or iPhone/iPod add developers for accurate information.