passbooks

A passbook, also called a bankbook, is a small bound booklet issued by a bank to a deposit account holder. It records the chronological history of deposits, withdrawals, interest, and the balance. Entries are typically made by bank staff at the counter or through ATMs; many passbooks include dates, transaction descriptions, amounts, running balances, and stamps or signatures. The physical book serves as a tangible record and proof of the account's activity, useful for balancing ledgers and for accounts held by children, students, or people without easy access to digital banking.

Passbooks have their roots in early modern savings banking and were widely used in many countries through the 20th century. They may be called savings books or bankbooks, and the style and content vary by country and institution. In some regions, passbooks remain common, especially for rural or low-income customers, or for accounts that prefer offline record-keeping. In other contexts, digital alternatives such as online statements or electronic passbooks have largely superseded paper books, though some banks still issue them on request.

In the realm of software and digital services, Passbook was the name of Apple's mobile wallet app introduced in 2012, later rebranded as Apple Wallet, which stores digital passes, tickets, and coupons rather than financial account records.