A digital wallet is an app on a phone or watch that securely stores items such as payment cards, loyalty cards, gift cards, coupons and tickets. Customers use it to pay or redeem without carrying the physical card or showing a paper voucher.
There are two related uses. For payments, wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay hold tokenised versions of card details, so the real card number is not shared with the merchant, and authorise contactless payment with a fingerprint, face or passcode. For passes, Apple Wallet and Google Wallet hold loyalty cards, memberships and offers, which a business creates and can update remotely, often with a barcode or QR code to scan.
Retailers issue wallet passes for loyalty programs and gift cards, which customers add from a link or QR code. Updated points balances or offers can appear on the pass without an app download. Hospitality and venues use them for memberships, event tickets and vouchers.
Considerations include integrating the pass with the POS or loyalty system so scanning works at checkout, designing the pass clearly, and respecting privacy when location or customer details are used. Passes need correct set-up with each platform's requirements, and a business should check that terminals accept the relevant barcodes. Customers also expect expired or redeemed passes to update correctly.
Digital wallets matter because they put loyalty and payment on the device customers already carry. RetailCare supports Apple and Google Wallet passes.