Wallet Pass vs SMS, Email and App - Why Businesses Are Switching in 2026
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I was sharing with friends recently how a work colleague had been pick-pocketed.
“But why was he still carrying physical cards in in his back pocket,” one asked, surprised. “He could store everything securely in his digital wallet.”
That made me stop and think. It’s true: more than 55% of the global population (that’s 4.5 billion consumers worldwide) already use digital wallets. By the end of 2026 that figure will have risen to 5.2 billion.
These consumers are not just using digital wallets to pay for purchases but are also becoming increasingly reliant on their digital passes to deliver real-time updates and offers rather than waiting for that information to be sent to them by SMS, email or App.
Wallet passes (Apple Wallet and Google Wallet) are proving to be a highly effective communication channel — combining the reach of SMS with the engagement of mobile apps, yet without asking consumers to do anything extra (no sign-up or download).
Which channel is the most effective way for me to reach my customer?
Let’s consider the options to achieve the ultimate customer engagement – is it through Email, SMS, Mobile Apps or a Wallet Pass?
*Benchmarks compiled from Mailchimp, Hubspot, Airship, Attentive and PassKit industry reports
Email is easy to send and requires nothing from the customer, but only 2–4% of people click on emails, and deliverability is just "medium" — meaning a fair chunk will most likely end up in spam or go unread.
SMS is better — texts get through reliably (High deliverability) and 10–19% of people click on the message, which is a solid improvement over email.
Mobile Apps can achieve great engagement (20–40% of people open Push Notifications), but the big catch is that customers must first download your app — and that is a significant barrier.
Wallet Pass — the digital wallet option — is the standout here. It requires no app install, achieves around 20 -25% click-through rate (CTR) and has Very High deliverability, meaning it almost always reaches the customer.
The digital wallet loyalty programme is the mother of all marketing channels.
Why major brands like Value Retail, Universal Orlando and AT&T have already switched to wallet passes with PassEntry in 2026
Don’t just take our word for it – consider the major brands who have already chosen to work with PassEntry this year, including Value Retail, Hagar, Universal Orlando, AT&T and Bath Rugby.
The case for digital wallet passes as a marketing channel basically comes down to three things: friction, reach, and performance.
Start with the friction problem. Every time a business asks a customer to do something — download an app, open an email, opt into notifications — a percentage of those customers simply won't bother. Apps are the worst offender here. They require storage space, a download, and a deliberate commitment from the customer. Most people only regularly use a handful of apps, so getting someone to install yours is genuinely hard. Wallet passes sidestep all of that entirely. The customer already has Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on their phone. There's nothing new to install.
Then there's the reach argument. With 5.2 billion digital wallet users expected by 2026, the audience is enormous and growing fast. This isn't a niche technology anymore — it's mainstream infrastructure, baked into the operating systems of the world's most widely used smartphones (iPhone and Android). Businesses that adopt wallet passes now are positioning themselves on a platform that their customers are already using every day.
And then the performance data makes the argument almost unanswerable. A greater than 22% click-through rate with very high deliverability is exceptional. Email — which most businesses still treat as their primary channel — delivers a fraction of that engagement and regularly gets swallowed by spam filters. SMS is strong but carries an increasingly negative association with intrusive marketing. Wallet passes, by contrast, feel useful rather than pushy — they live alongside your boarding passes, loyalty cards, membership cards and train tickets, so your customers want to engage with them.
Put it all together, and the argument is this: digital wallet passes offer businesses a rare combination of low barriers to adoption, massive and growing reach, and best-in-class engagement. As consumers become more protective of their attention and more resistant to traditional marketing channels, wallet passes represent one of the few channels where the interests of the business and the customer are genuinely aligned — the customer gets something convenient and useful, and the business gets a direct, high-performing line of communication. That's why adoption is accelerating, exponentially.
Your Business, Your Choice –
the Wallet Pass vs Mobile App, SMS and Email Marketing
Wallet passes keep things simple. They're quick to set up, light on resources, and they live inside apps — Apple Wallet and Google Wallet — that your customers are already using. And far from disrupting your existing marketing mix, they actually bring it closer together, bridging the gap between channels and making the path to app adoption feel natural rather than forced.
To better understand how to implement a digital wallet strategy and why you should use the Wallet Pass to market your product, you may want to also read these articles:
How to Launch a Wallet Pass Programme in 24 Hours
and
How to Choose the Best Wallet Pass Provider in 2026
Choosing the right wallet pass provider shouldn't be complicated. That's why PassEntry has introduced a Pilot Plan — so you can try before you commit, with zero pressure and full support.
Claim your free 14-day trial today and see what a great wallet pass experience actually looks like.
