Looking back, it seems like the world turned upside down overnight. Our lives changed in ways we never could have imagined, and for a while, it seemed like we’d never break the chains of Covid. 

Fortunately, we got highly effective, safe, and widely available vaccines in record time, and as vaccination rates grow, we’re starting to see things slowly return to normal or a new normal.

However, to maintain that “normal” in a world where we still have a Coronavirus and its various mutations, we must continue to break the chains of transmission. Since Covid spreads rapidly in enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces, we need to ensure that we keep our public spaces, businesses, and other indoor spaces as safe as possible

The Solution Has Created a Problem

Vaccine passports have become the default solution, but while they solve the problem, they raise another. How do we use them without slowing everything down, creating bottlenecks, and frustrating people who are already doing the right thing? 

Medical professionals and scientists say that this won’t be the last global pandemic we’ll face. They’re also saying that we won’t be waiting 100 years between pandemics in the future. Some of the changes to our lifestyles are going to become permanent. 

Vaccine passports are here to stay, at least for the immediate future. How do we create a universal, easy to use and secure vaccine passport? How do we make it interoperable, secure, and frictionless for users?

Wallet-based vaccine passports are quickly becoming the go-to solution. Here are their advantages and why they will be here long after the pandemic fades away. Why? Because there are so many other real-world, cost-effective, and beneficial applications for the technology that allows us to create vaccination records in a mobile wallet. 

What is a Mobile Wallet Pass?

Wallet pass vaccine passports don’t require the user to download an app – or even have a smartphone. They use technology like NFC tap, so they’re almost entirely hands-off. They can also be used as a communication channel to send push notifications and even advertising to the user. 

More importantly, mobile wallet passes have significantly improved retention, at over 85%, versus 25% for apps. Because let’s face it, when you need to make space on your phone, apps are the first thing to go! 

A wallet pass keeps information secure but easy to access, and when you change phones, all you have to do is transfer your mobile wallet account. All your data and information are right back where you left it. 

1. Advantages of Mobile Wallet Passes

Vaccine passports will be crucial not only to re-socialize ourselves but also for travel, in offices and even in schools. Ensuring that the people sharing enclosed spaces are vaccinated limits liability for the people who own and control those spaces and helps prevent outbreaks. 

Mobile wallet passes offer distinct advantages that will help to make the transition to a vaccine pass world easier, including:

• Data interoperability – with a universal system to create, store and read regional proof of vaccine documents, wallet passes will work wherever you need them to
• Enhanced security – a mobile wallet pass can’t be copied, edited, forged, or shared, and push security updates as they are developed.
• Communication channel – mobile wallet passes don’t only stay up to date through push notifications – the same system can be used for direct communications such as ads, surveys, and verification questions.
• Hard to lose – a physical card could be misplaced or simply left at home – but no one goes out without their phone these days! 
• Faster and cheaper – the cost and logistics of developing physical vaccine passport cards are prohibitive – but adapting existing technology and rolling a mobile wallet pass is quick and much affordable.
• Won’t be damaged in the wash – we’ve all put our real-world cards through the rinse cycle a few times – but even if your phone takes a swim, your mobile wallet is always accessible in the cloud.

Vaccination records have created a current demand for mobile wallet technology, but just like we’re all getting used to working from home and starting to prefer our digital meetings, it’s going to become the storage option of choice for important information. 

In many cases, vaccine passports are a necessary, albeit annoying, step so people can go back to the restaurants they love or travel to the countries they want to visit. 

For those doing their part to keep communities safe and begin in-person interactions again, it makes sense to make the process of proving their vaccination status as quick and painless as possible. 

2. Much More Than a Vaccine Passport

Vaccine passports are well on their way to becoming a near-universal requirement. So, at some point, we’re all going to be carrying them. 

What if we could combine other things with that passport, so we can cull the physical cards from our wallets? Loyalty cards, insurance information, membership passes, and even ID could very easily be stored in the same mobile wallet, so you can tap, scan, and move on quickly in so many more places!

If workers in your organization are required to have first aid, various safety courses, or tickets to use equipment or vehicles, you can create and store those credentials right in their mobile wallet too. There’s so much more valuable work to be done than keeping track of physical documents. Simply verify credentials directly from the mobile wallet system. 

The flexibility, control, and interoperability of mobile wallets will lead to their use for many other things. We might start using them because we have to share our vaccination records, but they will continue to be in demand because they just work so well. 

3. Secure and Easy 

CheckVax™ from Fobi takes full advantage of the capabilities of wallet pass technology. It allows for secure and easy storage of information like vaccination passports, doesn’t take up space in your actual wallet, and can’t be lost, stolen, or damaged. 

Organizations that implement this type of passport system can integrate other OHS and administrative requirements with their wallet pass and tailor their organization-wide communications. 

Because none of the information stored in a mobile wallet is stored locally, there’s no way that anyone can edit or alter it. Because the wallet and the devices you need to view, verify, and read them are proprietary and secure, there’s no way to forge them. Your software simply won’t read the item if it’s not stored properly in the wallet. 

4. Better for Employees

One of the biggest problems with old-fashioned physical vaccine passports is that they must be manually verified by a staff member. Front-line workers have taken the brunt of pandemic frustrations and are slowed down by manually checking vaccination cards. Mobile wallet vaccine passports help improve their life

Mobile wallets have made the process of boarding planes quick and easy, and they can do the same for vaccine verification. In fact, with the right kinds of latches on doors, you might not even have to have a staff member verify their information at all. The passport itself can be used to trigger the entry mechanism, which makes things quicker for your customers and visitors, and takes your people out of the firing line.

5. Open Doors … Literally!

Many organizations restrict access to various areas and facilities based on security clearance. Until now, various codes, cards, and tags have been used to open doors using RFID technology. But when vaccination records are moved into a mobile wallet, there’s no reason you can’t put employee access cards there too. 

One easy-to-use, easy-to-scan system can replace all those old-fashioned cards and tags, and its easy and cheap to add, remove and change security clearances as your staffing requirements change. 

Integrate your mobile wallet directly with your access control and building management systems. Identify individual users and verify security clearances on the fly. 

Just like mobile wallet-based vaccine passports can eliminate the need for manual verification, they can transform your security and access system. 

6. Visitor and Guest Passes

When you choose to use a mobile wallet with vaccination records, you can combine them with temporary clearance for visitors and guests. So, you can throw away the old-fashioned guestbook and track who accesses your building and when with a seamless, quick, and easy-to-use digital pass. 

Mobile wallet technology makes it easy to revoke and track guest visitor and guest pass quickly and easily.

Suppose you have visitors attending a meeting or appointment in your building. In that case, you can send them a preauthorized access pass before they even arrive, so there’s no wait at reception before they can access your offices. Then simply revoke their pass when the meeting is over. 

7. Loyalty Points

We all know that loyalty points are a great way to keep people coming back time after time. What if you could throw away the old-fashioned loyalty card and go digital instead? Mobile wallet technology like the system created by Fobi for vaccination records integrates easily with most POS systems, so your customers can tap, collect, and redeem virtual loyalty cards without ever taking one out of their purse or wallet. Use the secure and personalized communication channel created by your digital wallet system to send promotions and news directly to any member’s phone. 

Unlike physical cards, which can be shared, stolen, or lost, loyalty programs built on mobile wallet technology are more secure, easier to use, and much harder to lose! 

Thanks for the innovation Covid!

Covid has pushed us to innovate and find ways to verify vaccination status. Many people have worked hard to find ways to alleviate the frustrations of the pandemic, and it’s sparked some significant changes. 

We’ve had to develop solutions for problems we never imagined having, and because Covid is global, those solutions must be universally applicable. 

Just like the pandemic created an unprecedented demand for screen-sharing apps and video conferencing, looking for easy, secure options to verify vaccine passports has pushed us to innovate and repurpose technology like mobile wallets. 

If you want to learn more about how you can streamline your own vaccine passport system while building in additional features for employees, visitors and customers, contact Fobi. We’re experts in the field of mobile wallet technology, and we’re ready to transform the way you share, collect, verify, and distribute information in your organization and beyond.