Apple Announces New PassBook App To Store Movie Tickets, Retail Cards, And Boarding Passes

Apple just announced at WWDC a new iOS app called PassBook that aims to store all of your “passes” — a category that includes boarding passes, store cards, and movie tickets.

The idea is to create one app that replaces a lot of the clutter in your wallet (or, if you’re an early-adopter, unifies a lot of an experience that was spread across multiple mobile apps). So you can open up PassBook whenever you need to board a flight, get into a movie, or get a discount at the store.

The examples included a Starbucks card, where the user’s balance is automatically updated with each payment. It also integrates with the phone’s lock screen, so you can bring up (say) a Fandango movie ticket that will pop up as soon as you arrive at the theater. You can also delete coupons, which are then virtually shredded.

This could be bad news for startups who jumped on the loyalty bandwagon and tried to replace the physical punchcards and memberships in your wallet.