A plain-English glossary of 25 wallet pass, loyalty, and SMS compliance terms every cannabis marketer needs to know in 2026. Bookmark and share.
How to use this glossary
Cannabis retail marketing has its own vocabulary, and it's been changing fast. Wallet pass technology, SMS compliance, and loyalty platform jargon evolve alongside each other, and a term that meant one thing in 2022 means something different in 2026.
This glossary covers the 25 terms that come up most often in dispensary marketing conversations. Each definition is plain-English, written for operators rather than engineers. Use it as a reference, share it with new team members, and link to it from your internal training materials.
Terms are grouped by category:
Wallet Pass Fundamentals
1. Wallet Pass
A digital card stored in a customer's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet that functions as a loyalty card, membership card, ticket, or coupon. Wallet passes update in real time, support push notifications, and don't require a separate app to install or open.
2. Apple Wallet
Apple's native iOS application for storing payment cards, boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets, and IDs. Pre-installed on every iPhone, Apple Wallet does not require download and is the largest wallet pass platform in the U.S.
3. Google Wallet
Google's equivalent on Android, formerly known as Google Pay. Stores payment cards, loyalty cards, transit passes, and IDs. Available on virtually every Android device sold in the U.S. since 2022.
4. Pass
The generic term for a single card or ticket stored in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. A loyalty pass, a boarding pass, and a concert ticket are all "passes."
5. PWA (Progressive Web App)
A web-based application that loads in a browser but behaves like a native app — including offline functionality and push notification support. PWAs are often paired with wallet passes to deliver a fuller customer experience without requiring an app download.
6. NFC (Near-Field Communication)
The short-range wireless technology that allows a phone to be tapped against a reader or sticker to trigger an action. For dispensary loyalty, NFC stickers can be placed at the register or storefront so customers can tap to enroll in a loyalty program without scanning a QR code.
7. QR Code Enrollment
A loyalty signup flow where customers scan a QR code with their phone camera, which immediately prompts them to add a wallet pass. Industry-wide, QR enrollment is the fastest customer-facing loyalty signup method available — typically under 10 seconds end to end.
Push Notifications & Messaging
8. Wallet Push Notification
A push notification sent through a wallet pass directly to the customer's lock screen. Wallet push notifications are not subject to the carrier filtering that affects SMS, which is why they have substantially higher delivery rates in regulated industries like cannabis.
9. Lock Screen Delivery
The technical term for a notification appearing on the customer's phone screen without the phone being unlocked. Lock screen delivery is the highest-visibility form of mobile communication and is the default behavior for wallet pass push notifications.
10. Geo-Fenced Push
A push notification triggered when a customer enters a defined geographic area, such as a 300-foot radius around a dispensary location. Geo-fencing is widely used by dispensaries to drive foot traffic and to target customers visiting competing locations.
11. SMS (Short Message Service)
The standard text messaging protocol used to send marketing messages to mobile phones. In cannabis retail, SMS has become structurally harder to use since 2024 due to carrier filtering and 10DLC enforcement.
12. MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service)
The text messaging protocol used to send messages containing images, video, or audio. MMS in cannabis is subject to the same carrier filtering challenges as SMS and is meaningfully more expensive per message.
13. Push-to-SMS Fallback
A delivery strategy in which a marketing platform first attempts to reach a customer via wallet push notification, and only falls back to SMS if the push channel is unavailable. This pattern is increasingly common in modern loyalty platforms because it preserves deliverability while controlling SMS costs.
Loyalty Program Mechanics
14. Opt-In
The action a customer takes to join a loyalty program or consent to marketing communications. In cannabis, opt-in must be explicit and is regulated under TCPA, CAN-SPAM, and CASL.
15. Double Opt-In
A two-step consent process where a customer first signs up and then confirms their signup, typically via a verification message. Double opt-in is required or strongly encouraged in many regulated industries and protects against accidental enrollments.
16. Points-Based Loyalty
A loyalty program structure where customers earn points for each purchase that can be redeemed for discounts, products, or perks. The most common loyalty model in cannabis retail.
17. Stamps-Based Loyalty
A loyalty program structure where customers earn a stamp for each visit (rather than each dollar spent), with rewards triggered at fixed visit milestones. Often used by smaller operators and in adjacent industries like coffee shops and restaurants.
18. Tiered Loyalty (VIP Tiers)
A loyalty structure where customers progress through escalating tiers — typically Bronze, Silver, Gold, or similar — based on spend or visit frequency, with each tier unlocking better rewards and perks. Tiered loyalty drives higher lifetime value than flat programs.
19. Win-Back Campaign
A targeted marketing campaign aimed at customers who have lapsed — typically defined as members who haven't made a purchase in 60 to 90 days. Win-back campaigns often produce higher ROI than new customer acquisition campaigns.
20. Birthday Offer
An automated reward or discount sent to a customer on or near their birthday. Birthday offers consistently rank among the highest-engagement automations in retail loyalty across every industry, including cannabis.
Compliance & Deliverability
21. TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)
The U.S. federal law governing telemarketing, automated calls, and SMS marketing. TCPA requires explicit prior consent before sending marketing messages and is the foundational compliance framework for any cannabis SMS program.
22. 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code)
A regulatory framework introduced by U.S. wireless carriers requiring business SMS senders to register their phone numbers and message use cases. Cannabis is classified as a high-scrutiny category under 10DLC, which is why even fully registered cannabis operators commonly experience message filtering.
23. Carrier Filtering
The practice by wireless carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and others — of automatically blocking, delaying, or quarantining SMS messages that contain certain words, phrases, or sender patterns. Cannabis-related content is among the most heavily filtered categories on U.S. carrier networks.
24. CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation)
Canada's federal anti-spam law, which governs commercial electronic messages including SMS and email. CASL applies to any operator marketing to Canadian customers and has stricter consent requirements than U.S. law.
Performance Metrics
25. Loyalty Opt-In Rate
The percentage of unique customers who join your loyalty program during a given period. Calculated as new loyalty signups divided by total unique customers. The single most important top-of-funnel metric in dispensary loyalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is wallet pass loyalty?
Wallet pass loyalty is a loyalty program structure where customers' loyalty cards live in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet rather than in a separate dispensary app. Customers enroll by scanning a QR code, the card updates in real time with points and rewards, and the dispensary can send push notifications directly to the customer's lock screen.
Why are wallet passes better than apps for dispensary loyalty?
Wallet passes remove the largest point of friction in app-based loyalty: the app download. Customers can enroll in under 10 seconds, the pass lives alongside their boarding passes and payment cards, and push notifications are delivered without the carrier filtering that affects SMS. Apps require a download, an account, and ongoing storage that most customers won't do for a single dispensary.
What's the difference between SMS and wallet push notifications?
SMS messages are routed through wireless carriers and are subject to carrier filtering, 10DLC registration requirements, and per-message fees. Wallet push notifications are sent through Apple's and Google's notification systems directly to the customer's lock screen, bypassing carrier networks entirely. The result is dramatically higher delivery rates and lower per-message costs for wallet push compared to SMS in regulated industries like cannabis.
Is wallet pass loyalty TCPA compliant?
Wallet pass loyalty programs can be fully TCPA compliant when customers provide explicit consent at the point of enrollment and the operator follows standard opt-in best practices. The wallet pass itself is not a TCPA-regulated channel in the same way SMS is, but any associated SMS communications must follow TCPA rules.
How fast can a customer enroll in a wallet pass loyalty program?
A well-designed wallet pass enrollment takes under 10 seconds from QR scan to confirmation. The customer scans the code, taps "Add to Wallet," and the loyalty card appears in their wallet immediately. No account creation, no email verification, and no app download is required.
What POS systems support wallet pass loyalty for dispensaries?
Wallet pass loyalty platforms typically integrate with the major cannabis POS systems used in U.S. and Canadian dispensaries, including Treez, Flowhub, Dutchie, Greenline, Cova, TechPOS, POSaBIT, and several others. Specific integration depth varies by platform.
