flybuys in Apple Wallet – officially!

Today’s flybuys app update for iOS adds one long awaited feature – the option to add your flybuys card to Apple Wallet (meaning it’s always just a double tap on the side button away, with no need to spend those key seconds finding the flybuys app)

Just fire up the flybuys app, tap on ‘My card’ in the top right, and enjoy the newfound “Add to Apple Wallet” button.

Unfortunately it doesn’t do…. anything that my existing unofficial pass maker did.

  1. No NFC/Contactless support like Woolworths’ Everyday Rewards pass, so you still have to do a bit of a dance to get the barcode scanner to read the barcode.
  2. Because it doesn’t have NFC support, while the pass will sync to your Apple Watch, no barcode will show, making it useless.
  3. There’s nothing customised for you – it doesn’t show your points balance
  4. It doesn’t show when nearby stores (eg, you should be able to mark your favourite Coles, Liquorland, Kmart or Target stores in the flybuys app, so the pass appears on your lockscreen)
  5. Finally – a missed opportunity for showing messages, offers and more on the pass or via notifications

Arguably, that’s also one ugly header image ;P

Hopefully this is just the start and these features are coming soon.