Apple launches ‘iTunes Pass’ in Japanese Retail Stores, enabling customers to refill iTunes credit with Passbook

“Apple today has launched an interesting new service for iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore users in Japan with iPhones and iPod touches,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac.

“The new service, called iTunes Pass (no, not that iTunes Pass), allows users to go to an Apple Store in Japan, purchase credit in-store for the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore, and have that money immediately applied to the Apple ID account instead of needing to receive a gift card and enter a redemption code,” Gurman reports. “To substitute for a physical gift card, iTunes Pass installs a new pass inside of the iOS Passbook application. The Apple Store employee can scan the pass in order to immediately apply the credit to the Apple account.”

“This enhancement is Apple’s second first-party use of Passbook,” Gurman reports. “Apple previously opened up the ability for Apple Store gift cards to be stored in Passbook… this feature could be a hint at Apple’s mobile payments plan.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Attribution: MacRumors. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]