Wallet Pass Push Notifications: Reach Customers Without SMS

Wallet pass push notifications send messages straight to a customer’s lock screen through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. They work without SMS, which means you avoid per-message fees while still reaching people who have saved your loyalty card, coupon, or event pass.

See also: Digital Membership Card in Apple and Google Wallet · Digital Stamp Card: Replace Paper Punch Cards

This article explains how these notifications boost engagement, cut SMS costs, and improve customer reach. You will learn when to use them, what types of messages work best, and how to set them up for a retail store, cafe, or salon.

What Are Wallet Pass Push Notifications

A wallet pass push notification is a short message that appears on a customer’s phone lock screen, sent through a pass already saved in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. The customer does not need your app installed. They only need to have added your loyalty card, coupon, event ticket or membership pass to their wallet at some earlier point.

For a cafe, this could mean a customer who added a “Buy 8 coffees, get 1 free” card last month sees a message on Tuesday morning: “Double stamps today before 11am.” For a salon, a client with a loyalty pass might receive: “Your colour gloss discount expires Friday.” The message comes from the pass itself, not from an SMS number or an email inbox.

The practical difference matters. SMS messages arrive from a phone number, often get buried in a crowded inbox, and can feel intrusive. A wallet notification appears on the lock screen with your business name and logo, tied to a pass the customer chose to keep. When they tap it, the pass opens directly, showing the updated offer, barcode or QR code. There is no link to click through to a website, no typing, no app to open.

How the mechanics work in a real shop

Imagine a car wash that sells a “5-wash bundle” pass. A customer buys the bundle, and the staff adds the pass to the customer’s phone on the spot. Two weeks later, the owner sends a wallet push notification: “You have 2 washes left. Rain expected Thursday – book a wash before Wednesday and get a free interior vacuum.” The customer taps the notification, the pass opens, and the updated offer is right there.

The same logic applies to a restaurant. A diner who saved a “free starter on next visit” pass gets a notification on a slow Monday afternoon: “Free starter tonight when you order a main.” The restaurant does not need the diner’s phone number for SMS, does not pay per text message, and does not rely on the customer checking email.

Why the pass itself is the channel

The key point is that the notification is attached to an asset the customer already holds. A gym member with a class pass in their wallet might ignore a marketing email, but a lock screen message that says “Your 6am spin spot is still reserved – confirm or release by 8pm” is directly useful. A bakery with a “free pastry after 5 visits” pass can send “You’re one stamp away” and see a measurable bump in foot traffic the same afternoon.

Because the pass lives in the wallet, the customer can also find it later by opening the wallet app, even if they dismissed the notification. The message is not lost in a text thread. The offer, updated balance or booking reminder stays on the pass until you change it or the customer removes it.

For a shop owner, the workflow is simple: create or update a pass in your pass management tool, write a short message, and send it to all pass holders or a specific group. No SMS credits, no carrier fees, no character-count juggling beyond keeping the message short enough to read on a lock screen. The customer already opted in by adding the pass, so the notification feels less like cold outreach and more like a service update from a business they already know.

Apple Wallet Push Notification Setup

Setting up Apple Wallet push notifications is less technical than it sounds. You do not need to hire a developer or rebuild your website. The key is understanding that the notification is tied to a pass, not to a phone number. Once a customer adds your pass to their Apple Wallet, you have a direct channel to their lock screen.

Start by creating a pass template. Most wallet pass platforms let you pick a layout, add your logo, and set your brand colours. For a cafe, the pass might show a loyalty stamp card. For a salon, it could be a membership card with the next appointment date. The pass itself is the hook. The notification is the follow-up.

Turn on automatic location triggers

Apple Wallet supports notifications based on where the customer is standing. A car wash can set a radius of 200 metres around the site. When a customer with the pass drives past, the phone shows a lock-screen alert: "You are near Westside Car Wash. 20% off exterior wash today." No SMS cost. No email that gets ignored.

Set this up in your pass platform under location or geofence settings. Keep the radius tight. A cafe on a busy high street does not need to ping everyone within a kilometre. Start with 150 to 250 metres. If you run a gym in a shopping centre, use a smaller radius so you only reach people already in the building or the car park.

Write the notification copy

Apple Wallet notifications are short. The lock screen shows a title, a body, and your logo. Do not waste words.

Bad example: "Exciting news! We have a special offer available for a limited time only."

Good example for a restaurant: "Table free tonight? Book before 6pm and get a free starter."

Good example for a salon: "Your colour appointment is tomorrow at 10:30. Tap to confirm."

The second example works because it is specific and time-bound. The customer knows exactly what to do.

Set the pass update frequency

You do not send a notification by typing a message and pressing send. You update the pass, and the update triggers the notification. For a loyalty card, that means changing the points balance. The phone shows: "You now have 8 stamps. One more for a free coffee."

For a gym, you can update the pass when a class has spaces. The notification says: "Spaces left in Thursday 6pm spin class. Tap to book." The customer taps, the pass opens, and the booking link is right there.

Handle the opt-in correctly

Customers must allow notifications when they add the pass. The iPhone asks them during the add-to-wallet flow. Do not try to hide this or force it. If a customer declines, you cannot send them lock-screen alerts. That is fine. The pass still works for scanning and loyalty.

Make the opt-in worthwhile. On your counter sign or table tent, say: "Add this pass to get a free drink on your next visit. Allow notifications so you never miss a quiet-hour discount." A cafe that offers a quiet-hour discount between 2pm and 4pm can send a notification at 1:45pm. The customer is already nearby. The offer feels useful, not spammy.

Test before you promote

Add the pass to your own iPhone. Walk past your shop. Check the notification appears. Check the tap-through opens the right screen. If the pass links to a booking page, make sure that page loads fast on mobile. A notification that leads to a broken link is worse than no notification at all.

Apple Wallet push notifications work best when they are rare and relevant. One or two per week is enough for most shops. Use them for time-sensitive offers, appointment reminders, and loyalty updates. Leave the long announcements for email or in-store posters.

Google Wallet Message Capabilities

Google Wallet messages work differently from Apple Wallet push notifications, but they can still reach customers directly on their lock screen. A Google Wallet message appears as a notification from the Google Wallet app, tied to a specific pass the customer already saved. The message shows your business name, a short headline, and a longer body of text. Customers tap the notification to open the pass, where the full message and any updated pass details are visible.

The key difference is control. With Apple Wallet, you can send a push notification whenever you want, as long as the customer has your pass. Google Wallet messages are triggered by changes you make to the pass itself. When you update a pass in your Google Wallet API integration, Google sends a notification to the customer. This means every Google Wallet message needs a reason tied to a pass update: a changed balance, a new expiry date, a revised offer, or a refreshed loyalty stamp count.

For a cafe running a loyalty pass, this works naturally. When a customer earns their eighth stamp and unlocks a free coffee, you update the pass. The stamp count changes, and Google Wallet notifies the customer. The message could say “You’ve earned a free coffee” with a body explaining that the reward is loaded on their pass and ready to use on their next visit. The customer sees this without you sending an SMS or asking for an email address.

Salons can use Google Wallet messages for appointment-related updates. If a client books a haircut and you issue a Google Wallet pass with the appointment date and time, any change to that booking triggers a message. Reschedule the appointment in your booking system, update the pass, and the client gets a lock-screen notification with the new time. This is more immediate than an email and cheaper than an SMS, especially for last-minute changes.

Gyms and fitness studios can use Google Wallet messages for membership renewals. When a member’s monthly pass is about to expire, update the pass with the new expiry date after they renew. The notification confirms the renewal and reminds them their pass is still valid for entry. If a member’s pass is frozen or cancelled, the message explains the change without a separate text message.

Restaurants with table booking passes can send a Google Wallet message when a reservation is confirmed or moved. Update the pass with the new table time or party size, and the customer sees the change immediately. This reduces no-shows because the customer does not need to open an email or SMS thread to find the latest details.

One practical limit: Google Wallet messages are less flexible than Apple Wallet push notifications for pure marketing. You cannot send a Google Wallet message that says “20% off this weekend” unless that offer is also reflected in the pass itself. The workaround is to update the pass with a new offer field, a changed barcode, or a refreshed relevant date. The message then becomes a legitimate pass update rather than an unsolicited marketing blast.

For shops that already use Google Wallet passes for loyalty or membership, these messages replace many routine SMS notifications. They cost nothing per message, they do not require collecting phone numbers for texting consent, and they land on the same lock screen as a text. The trade-off is that you need a system that can update passes automatically, either through your point-of-sale provider or a pass management platform.

Comparing SMS and Push Notifications

SMS and wallet pass push notifications both put a message in front of a customer, but they work differently in practice. The difference matters most when you look at cost, timing, and what a customer can do after the message arrives.

Cost per message

SMS costs money for every text you send. Most providers charge per message segment, so a 200-character text can count as two or three messages. A cafe sending a weekly special to 2,000 opted-in customers pays for 2,000 texts every week. Over a year, that adds up.

Wallet pass push notifications are included in the cost of the pass itself. Once a customer adds your pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, you can send updates without paying per message. A salon that sends appointment reminders, last-minute slot alerts, and seasonal offers through a wallet pass pays the same whether it sends one update or twenty.

Where the message lands

An SMS lands in the phone’s messaging app, mixed in with personal conversations, delivery codes, and spam. Customers often swipe away promotional texts without reading them. They also need to have given you their phone number and opted in, which adds a step at the counter or online.

A wallet pass push notification appears on the lock screen and is tied to your branded pass. When the customer taps it, the pass opens with your logo, location, and relevant details. A car wash can send a “wash due in 3 days” notification that opens directly to the customer’s loyalty card with their current stamp count. That context is hard to replicate in a text message.

What the customer can do next

SMS is mostly one-directional. You send a text, the customer reads it, and they may or may not act. Some platforms support two-way replies, but that requires staff time to manage.

Wallet passes are interactive. A restaurant can send a push notification about a new menu item and include an updated offer on the pass itself. The customer taps the notification, sees the offer, and presents the pass at the counter. A gym can send a class reminder that opens a pass showing the member’s check-in barcode. The notification drives action inside the pass, not just attention.

Timing and delivery

SMS delivery is generally fast, but carrier filtering can delay or block promotional messages. Shortcodes and sender IDs get flagged, especially when sending to many numbers at once. You also compete with every other text on the customer’s phone.

Wallet pass push notifications go through Apple and Google’s notification systems. Delivery is tied to the pass being installed, so you know the customer already has a relationship with your business. If they removed the pass, they won’t get the message. That self-filtering keeps your list cleaner than an SMS list with old or recycled numbers.

When each makes sense

SMS works well for urgent, time-sensitive alerts to customers who haven’t added your pass. A salon might text a waitlist client that a slot opened in 30 minutes. A car wash might text a one-time offer to a phone number collected at the pay station.

Wallet pass push notifications work better for ongoing communication with regulars. A cafe can send weekly menu updates to pass holders without recurring SMS fees. A gym can remind members about a schedule change and include the updated class list on the pass. The pass becomes a hub for the relationship, not just a message channel.

The practical takeaway: use SMS for one-off, urgent contact with people outside your pass ecosystem. Use wallet pass push notifications for repeat, contextual updates to customers who already carry your brand on their phone.

Designing Effective Wallet Alerts

A wallet pass sits on a customer’s lock screen or in their digital wallet app. The alert you send needs to earn that space. A poorly worded or badly timed notification gets the pass deleted. A useful one gets tapped, saved, and acted on.

Start with the message itself. Keep it under 20 words where possible. The lock screen shows only the first line or two before truncation. “Your loyalty card now has 2 stamps. One more visit for a free coffee.” is clear. “We wanted to let you know about our exciting new rewards milestone update” is not. Put the action or benefit first, not the greeting.

Use the pass fields to make the alert feel personal. A salon can set the pass to show the client’s first name and next appointment time. The push notification then reads: “Hi Sam, your cut with Mia is tomorrow at 10:30. Tap for directions.” That reads like a service, not a broadcast.

Timing matters more than wording. A cafe that sends a wallet alert at 7:45 am for a breakfast deal catches people on their commute. The same alert at 2 pm is noise. A gym can send a reminder 90 minutes before a booked class, when the member still has time to change plans. A car wash can trigger an alert when a customer’s monthly wash credit is about to expire, with 48 hours’ notice. Test different windows and watch which times get taps.

Limit frequency. One useful alert per week is sustainable for most retail and food businesses. Two or three per week works for a gym with class bookings or a salon with appointment reminders, because those are tied to a specific date. A daily push from a coffee shop will get the pass removed. Ask yourself: would I want this interruption if I were the customer?

Make the tap lead somewhere useful. If the alert says “Your loyalty balance changed,” the pass should open on the updated balance screen, not a generic homepage. If it says “20% off your next wash,” the pass should show the offer code or a barcode the cashier can scan. A dead-end tap trains customers to ignore future alerts.

Use location triggers where the platform allows. A restaurant can set a wallet alert to fire when a pass holder walks within 200 metres of the venue between 11:30 and 14:00. Table for one?” This is far more relevant than a blanket lunch push at noon.

Segment by behaviour. A cafe can send a different alert to customers who have not visited in three weeks versus regulars who come twice a week. The lapsed customer gets “We miss you. Free small coffee on your next visit this week.” The regular gets “New single-origin batch on now. Tap to see tasting notes.” Same pass type, different message, better results.

Finally, give an easy opt-out inside the pass. A small “notification settings” link on the back of the pass lets customers reduce frequency or turn off marketing alerts while keeping the pass for loyalty or tickets. That keeps the pass in the wallet even when the customer wants fewer interruptions.

Triggering Notifications From Your System

Most notification systems connect to your existing tools through a simple API or a no-code integration. Once a customer saves your wallet pass, you can send a message from your booking software, POS, loyalty platform or a basic spreadsheet export. The pass itself sits on the customer’s phone, but the trigger comes from your side.

Common triggers that work in practice

A cafe can trigger a notification when a loyalty stamp reaches a threshold. The customer buys their ninth coffee, the POS records it, and the wallet pass shows a message: “One more stamp for a free drink.” No SMS cost, no email that gets buried. The message appears on the lock screen with your cafe name.

A salon can use its appointment system to trigger reminders. When a booking is made, the system schedules a wallet notification for 24 hours before the appointment. The message can include the stylist’s name and a one-tap link to reschedule or cancel. This cuts no-shows because the customer sees the reminder in the same place they already keep their loyalty card.

A car wash can trigger a notification when a prepaid wash package is running low. If a customer bought five washes and has used four, the system sends a message: “One wash left on your card. Book a slot before the weekend rush.” The trigger is automatic, based on usage data already in your system.

A restaurant can trigger a message tied to a reservation. If a table is ready earlier than expected, the host sends a wallet notification instead of calling. The customer taps the notification to confirm they are on their way. This is faster than SMS and does not require the customer to have your app installed.

A gym can trigger a notification when a class has open spots. The system checks attendance numbers two hours before a class. If capacity drops below a set level, it sends a wallet message to members who have attended that class before. The message includes a tap-to-book action.

Setting up the trigger logic

Start with one trigger, not ten. Pick the event that costs you the most money or time right now. For a salon, that is usually missed appointments. For a cafe, it is customers who stop visiting after a few stamps. For a gym, it is low class attendance.

Define the condition in plain words. Example: “When a customer has not visited in 14 days and has a valid loyalty pass, send a reminder with a small perk.” Your developer or integration tool translates that into a rule.

The notification itself should be short. Two lines maximum on the lock screen. Include one action: book, claim, view, or confirm. Do not ask the customer to do two things.

What to avoid

Do not trigger notifications for generic marketing blasts. Wallet passes sit next to boarding passes and payment cards. Customers tolerate useful, specific messages. They delete passes that spam them. If your trigger is “send everyone a message every Tuesday,” you will lose pass retention fast.

Also avoid triggering a notification for something the customer already completed. If they just paid, do not send “thanks for your visit” as a wallet notification. That is what receipts are for. Use wallet notifications for the next step, not the last one.

Managing Opt In and Permissions

A wallet pass only sends a push notification when the customer adds the pass to their phone. That act is the first permission. The customer sees your offer, taps “Add to Apple Wallet” or “Save to Google Wallet,” and the pass lands on their lock screen or in their wallet app. From that moment, you can send updates tied to that pass. There is no separate SMS opt-in form, no phone number to collect, and no email confirmation loop.

The permission is specific. Adding a loyalty pass does not mean the customer agreed to marketing blasts. It means they want the pass and the updates that belong to it. A cafe customer who adds a stamp card expects messages about their stamp balance, a birthday reward, or a change to your opening hours. They do not expect a daily push about unrelated merchandise. Treat the pass as a narrow channel, not a broadcast list.

Shops often make the mistake of pushing too much too soon. A salon that sends a “We miss you” notification three days after a haircut will see passes deleted. A car wash that sends a weekly generic offer will train customers to ignore the lock screen. The wallet pass push notification works because it feels relevant. Keep it tied to the pass type: appointment reminders, loyalty balance updates, expiry warnings, or location-based offers when the customer is nearby.

Set clear expectations on the pass itself. The back of an Apple Wallet pass or the details section of a Google Wallet pass can state what notifications the customer will receive. For example: “You’ll get a reminder 24 hours before your booking and a reward alert when you earn a free item.” This is not a legal document. It is a plain sentence that reduces surprise and makes the opt-in feel deliberate.

Permission also changes when a customer removes the pass. Once deleted, you cannot send another wallet pass push notification to that device. There is no “re-opt-in” prompt inside the wallet. You need another channel to win them back, such as a sign at the counter, a QR code on a receipt, or a link in a follow-up email. A gym that notices a drop in active passes can place a small card at the front desk: “Re-add your member pass to get class reminders.” That is a practical re-entry point.

On the technical side, you control which passes receive a push through your wallet pass provider. Most platforms let you segment by pass type, last visit date, location, or custom fields. Use that. A restaurant with a lunch pass and a dinner pass should not send the same message to both groups. A retail store with a loyalty pass and a gift card pass should keep those notification streams separate. The customer opted into one pass, not the whole brand.

Apple and Google also give users system-level controls. A customer can disable notifications for a specific pass in their phone settings while keeping the pass in their wallet. That is why open rates and redemption data matter more than raw send counts. If a segment stops responding, the pass may still be installed but muted. Adjust the frequency or content before the customer removes it entirely.

Permission is not a one-time checkbox. It is a relationship you maintain with every send. A cafe that sends a push only when a stamp card is about to expire keeps its passes alive. A salon that sends a reminder only for upcoming bookings keeps its lock screen presence welcome. The wallet pass push notification is quiet by design. Respect that, and customers will keep the pass exactly where you want it: on their phone, one tap from your door.

Tracking Notification Performance

Tracking Notification Performance

You can send the best wallet pass push notification in the world, but if you do not measure what happens after you press send, you are guessing. The useful numbers are usually delivered, opened, and redeemed. Delivered tells you whether the pass is still on a customer’s phone. Opened tells you whether the message got attention. Redeemed tells you whether it actually changed behaviour.

A cafe offering a free pastry with any coffee can track this easily. The wallet pass carries a barcode or QR code. When the customer shows the pass at the counter, the staff scans it. The scan counts as a redemption. If you sent an Apple Wallet push notification to 200 customers and 40 scans happen within three days, you know the offer worked. No survey, no guesswork.

The same logic applies to a salon. Send a wallet pass push notification on Tuesday morning offering 15 percent off a midweek blow-dry. The pass updates with a new barcode for that specific offer. Your booking system can record whether the customer who books on Wednesday or Thursday has the updated pass. That links the notification to actual revenue.

Restaurants can track table turns. A wallet pass push notification for a quiet Monday evening with a free starter might go to 300 nearby pass holders. If 25 extra tables are seated compared with a normal Monday, and the front-of-house team asks how guests heard about the offer, you get a clear picture. Even without asking, you can count how many passes were scanned at the till.

Car washes face a different challenge. Many customers buy a pass and then forget about it. A Google Wallet message reminding them their prepaid wash expires in 10 days can be tracked by redemption at the wash bay. If 60 of 150 customers use the pass within the reminder window, that is a strong result. If only 10 do, the message or the timing needs work.

Gyms can measure check-ins. A wallet pass push notification about a new class or a bring-a-friend week can be linked to front-desk scans. If the pass is required for entry, every scan is a data point. Compare the week of the notification with the previous week. The difference is your impact.

SMS vs push notifications matters here because tracking is different. SMS delivery reports tell you a message arrived, but they rarely tell you what happened next. A wallet pass push notification is tied to an object on the phone. When that object is scanned or tapped, the action is recorded. That gives you a clearer line from message to visit.

Keep a simple log. For each campaign, write down the date, the offer, the number of passes sent, the number opened, and the number redeemed. After six campaigns, you will see patterns. Maybe Tuesday morning works better than Friday afternoon for your cafe. Maybe expiry reminders for the car wash get more redemptions than discount offers. Use that to plan the next month.

Do not chase opens alone. A high open rate with no redemptions means the message was interesting but the offer was weak or unclear. A low open rate with high redemption means the offer was strong but the message title did not pull people in. Fix one thing at a time and watch the numbers move.

Common Implementation Mistakes

Most shops get wallet passes working, then ruin the channel with basic errors. The technology is simple, but the habits around it are not. Here are the mistakes we see most often in retail, cafes, salons and gyms.

Sending the same message to everyone

A cafe launches a wallet pass for its loyalty programme. Every customer gets the same push notification: "20% off all drinks today." The problem? Half the pass holders only buy whole-bean coffee bags. The other half are regulars who already came in this morning. The message lands as noise.

Segment your pass list before you send. Use the data you already collect at the till: last visit date, usual order, postcode, loyalty tier. A salon can send a rebooking reminder only to clients whose last appointment was six weeks ago. A car wash can message only customers who bought the premium wash last time. One relevant message beats five generic ones.

Ignoring the lock-screen preview

The lock-screen text is your headline. Many shops write a useful message inside the pass, but the preview just says "Tap for details." That is a wasted opportunity.

For an Apple Wallet push notification, the preview text is the first thing the customer sees. Write it as a complete, specific sentence. "Your free coffee expires Thursday" works. "Special offer inside" does not. A Google Wallet message has the same issue. Preview text should tell the customer what they get and when it ends. If they have to unlock the phone and open the pass to understand the value, you have already lost most of them.

Messaging too often

Push notifications feel more personal than email, so the temptation is to use them more. A gym sends a push every day: class reminders, smoothie offers, membership renewal tips. After two weeks, the customer turns off notifications for the pass entirely. There is no second chance.

Set a maximum frequency before you start. For most shops, one or two wallet push notifications per month is plenty. A restaurant might send one weekly message for the Sunday lunch crowd and nothing else. A salon might send a single monthly reminder tied to the client's last visit. If you would not say it out loud to a customer standing in front of you, do not send it as a push.

No clear call to action

A pass notification that says "We miss you" does not tell the customer what to do. Come in? Book online? Show the pass for a discount? The message must include one specific action.

Compare two messages for a car wash. Weak: "Your car deserves a clean." Strong: "Show this pass before Friday for a free tyre shine with any exterior wash." The second message gives the customer a reason to act now and a clear instruction. Every wallet pass push notification should answer two questions: what do I get, and what do I do?

Forgetting to update the pass content

The push notification brings the customer back to the pass. If the pass still shows last month's offer or an expired loyalty balance, the customer loses trust. A cafe sends a push for a new seasonal drink, but the pass still shows the summer menu. The customer taps, sees outdated information, and ignores the next notification.

Update the pass content before you send the push. Check the expiry date, the offer terms and the loyalty points balance. The push and the pass must match. If you cannot update the pass in time, delay the push. A mismatched pass is worse than no push at all.

Using push as a replacement for SMS without thinking

Some shops switch from SMS to wallet pass push notifications to save money. That is fine, but the two channels behave differently. An SMS arrives even if the customer has notifications off. A wallet push only arrives if notifications are enabled for that pass. If a customer has disabled notifications, your message sits silently on their phone.

Treat wallet push as a supplement, not a straight swap. Use push for offers and reminders that are not time-critical. Use SMS for urgent changes like appointment cancellations or order delays. The cost saving is real, but the reach is different.

How PassHive handles this

This site is published by the team that builds PassHive, so we will be direct about what the product does and does not do. PassHive exists to give small and medium shops a simple way to issue branded loyalty cards that live in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Wallet pass push notifications are the main reason those cards are useful after a customer leaves the counter.

PassHive lets you send a push message to every customer who has saved your card. You write the message, choose the branch or branches, and send it. That matters because people ignore marketing texts but still glance at wallet notifications. A cafe can send “Double stamps today until 2 pm” and a salon can send “Your loyalty reward is ready.” The customer taps the notification and sees your card, your logo, and the current stamp or point balance.

The card itself is a stamp card or a points card. The card carries your shop’s name, colour, and logo. When you add a stamp or points at the counter, the card updates itself on the customer’s phone. That update is another quiet reason to open your business in their wallet.

Push volume has limits outside your control. Google allows roughly three messages per card per day. Apple does not publish a fixed number, but the same common-sense rule applies: one useful message a week works better than three a day. PassHive does not promise unlimited reach, because no wallet provider allows that.

Location reminders work alongside push. You can set a card to remind customers when they are near your shop. Apple supports up to 10 locations per card with a radius of about 200 metres. Google uses merchant locations. The phone decides when to show the reminder, so you cannot force it, but it can bring a customer back without you sending anything.

Yearly billing gives two months free. There is no limit on the number of cards or customers. A cafe with 1,000 loyalty members pays $10 per month. The same cafe on PassKit would pay about $73 per month because PassKit charges $39.50 per month plus per-pass fees after the first 250 passes. At 10,000 customers, PassKit is about $341 per month. PassHive stays at $10. See PassHive pricing for the full table.

Customers join by scanning a QR code at the counter or opening a link. No app download. The card opens in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and stays there.

PassHive is not a POS, not an e-commerce plugin, and has no named integrations with Shopify, Square, or Toast. If you need those, this is the wrong tool. What it does include is a public REST API with API keys, so a developer or agency can issue cards, add stamps, add points, and send push messages from your own POS, app, or website. Documentation is at passhive.app/docs.

You can design the card and preview it on iPhone and Android before paying. Its cards stop immediately.

If you want to test the card design and push flow, start designing your card free.

PassHive is a flat monthly plan for the whole business, not a fee per branch. The plan sets the maximum number of active branches you can run: $10 a month for up to 100 branches, $25 for up to 275, $50 for up to 600 and $100 for up to 1,250. Yearly billing gives two months free ($100, $250, $500 or $1,000 a year). A cafe with one branch pays $10 a month in total, whatever the number of cards or customers. That is what "pay for your branches, not your customers" means: the plan size follows how many branches you run, never how many people save your card.