I don't know if I'm missing something, but I was given a Starbucks gift card worth $10 the other day and figured I would try and add it to my Apple Wallet, just so I don't have to carry around the physical card. This is when I started scratching my head. To do so you first need to create an account with Starbucks and join their program, then you need to download their app, where you can then add the gift card by scanning it. Once it's scanned and the balance shows you can then click Pay and you will get an option to add to wallet, which I did.
Then this morning I decided to use some of my balance, and unlike Apple Pay which also utilizes Apple Wallet you then have to open up the wallet app and have the clerk scan the virtual card. Granted, this is neat if I had forgotten my physical card, but unlike Apple Pay which is totally fluid this seems completely backward and I absolutely hate the fact that it's not native and that I have to install a supporting app for every gift card that I add which is not added through my banking app, which oddly enough supports 20 to 30 of the biggest retail stores gift cards, where I simply scan the physical card and it adds the balance and basically it just uses the balance from it as if it was any other added debit or credit card, through Apple Pay when I'm at the store.
All in all, I think Apple Wallet/Passbook could use a lot of work, it seems a bit half-assed to me. Is it the same for people on Android, that they need to add supporting apps? Because I love my gift cards, but I'm not going to bug down my phone with 20+ apps which I will never open besides when I add a gift card.
Then this morning I decided to use some of my balance, and unlike Apple Pay which also utilizes Apple Wallet you then have to open up the wallet app and have the clerk scan the virtual card. Granted, this is neat if I had forgotten my physical card, but unlike Apple Pay which is totally fluid this seems completely backward and I absolutely hate the fact that it's not native and that I have to install a supporting app for every gift card that I add which is not added through my banking app, which oddly enough supports 20 to 30 of the biggest retail stores gift cards, where I simply scan the physical card and it adds the balance and basically it just uses the balance from it as if it was any other added debit or credit card, through Apple Pay when I'm at the store.
All in all, I think Apple Wallet/Passbook could use a lot of work, it seems a bit half-assed to me. Is it the same for people on Android, that they need to add supporting apps? Because I love my gift cards, but I'm not going to bug down my phone with 20+ apps which I will never open besides when I add a gift card.