New iTunes Pass Program Rears Its Head In Japan

Tired of carrying around iTunes cards in your wallet? Apple has just released a brand new ‘pass’ for Passbook specifically for the iTunes store (iBooks, Music, Movies/TV, and Apps). It’s currently Japan only, but customers can now add credit directly to the iTunes Pass by hitting up a sales rep at any Apple Store.

 

What are the benefits outside of clearing some space in your wallet? Customers no longer have to attach a debit or credit card to their iTunes account, which also means minors no longer have to rely on Mom and Dad to attach their credit cards to an account. Take that Smurfs’ Village. Looks like tricking kids in to spending money on Mom and Dad’s Visa through sneaky in-app purchases just got a little bit more difficult too.

Like we noted, the pass isn’t yet available outside of Japan. It’s likely that the appearance in Japan is a small beta test before the system rolls out worldwide.

What a great way to get rid of those useless plastic cards, and cutting down on needless waste.

Joshua is the Content Marketing Manager at BuySellAds. He’s also the founder of Macgasm.net. And since all that doesn’t quite give him enough content to wrangle, he’s also a technology journalist in his spare time, with bylines at PCWorld, Macworld and TechHive.