Socket Mobile stock rises on SocketScan achieving Apple Pay compatibility

Socket Mobile, a leading innovator of data capture and delivery solutions for enhanced productivity, today announced that the SocketScan S550 Contactless Membership Card Reader/Writer has passed Apple Pay “VAS” (Value Added Service) certification process. The S550 now complies with Apple’s NFC VAS Protocol to select and retrieve mobile passes from the Apple wallet resident on iPhones and Apple Watches.

Mobile passes are virtual cards, or digitized cards, that are stored in a user’s Apple wallet. These mobile passes can be used for loyalty programs, membership cards, event tickets, coupons/offers, check-in/checkout. The required mobile passes can be activated by simply tapping the iPhone or Apple Watch on the S500 reader. The end-user tapping experience is similar to the Apple Pay process. However, instead of interacting with the payment process, it interacts with the vast ecosystem infrastructure of iOS VAS, enabling organizations and companies to deliver exceptional user experiences.

Socket Mobile’s focus is loyalty cards, memberships, and other customer-related services. The S550 can automatically request the appropriate mobile pass for the franchise, store or event you are attending to ensure a fast and convenient end-user experience. While the user interaction is simple, the S550 provides a high level of security by capturing a cryptographically generated payload from the mobile pass, then transmitting this payload over secure Bluetooth to an iPad or other device running a connected application.

“The S550 delivers an engaging, contactless, and frictionless experience for your customers and guest using mobile passes. The Capture SDK provides our developers with the tools to use the magic of the Apple VAS eco-system. We’re excited to be at the forefront of these new mobile pass capabilities and their ability to improve customer experiences,” says Vince Coli, Staff Director, Technical Product Marketing.

Socket’s Capture SDK enables its app developer community to build connected apps using the S550 to unite this ecosystem. Socket Mobile Nice2CU application, available via Apple app store (and soon as open source on GitHub), is a simple membership check-in/ checkout app demonstrating the power and potential capabilities of the solution.

The S550 contactless reader also reads most NFC cards in addition to mobile passes. In addition, it supports NFC Forum tags, NPX, STMicro tag, Mifare and much more.

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