Summary
- Replacing your physical wallet with your iPhone means that you’ll never be without your payment, transit, and store cards.
- The Wallet app already supports many card types including credit or debit cards, transit cards, driver’s licenses, and home keys.
- You can use the Pass2U Wallet app to create personalized digital cards for unsupported loyalty and reward cards.
The iPhone Wallet app has expanded its card support over the years, but not all loyalty and reward cards can be natively added to Apple Wallet. Here’s how to add cards to your Apple Wallet, whether they’re natively supported or not.
Your iPhone Can (Almost) Replace Your Wallet
The Wallet app, formerly known as Passbook, was first introduced in iOS 6 in 2012 to help users manage their movie tickets, boarding passes, gift cards, and event tickets in one app. It expanded in 2014 with the introduction of Apple Pay with the iPhone 6.
Since then, the Wallet app has expanded support for more cards. These include additional debit and credit cards, loyalty and rewards cards, insurance cards, digital home keys, transit cards, membership badges, driver’s licenses, and state IDs for supported states.
Double-pressing the power button on your iPhone and iPad and the Side button on your Apple Watch allows you to access the cards in your digital wallet easily.
Cards You Can Already Add to the Wallet App
The Wallet app allows you to add multiple cards, including Apple Account cards, debit or credit cards, transit cards, driver’s licenses or state IDs, and home keys.
To add a card, open the Wallet app, tap the plus icon at the top right of the screen, and select the type of card you want to add to your wallet.
Apple Account Card
An Apple Account card is just a fancy name for an Apple gift card. From the Wallet app, you can check your card’s current balance and use it to make an online or in-store purchase of an Apple product or service.
To add your Apple Account to your wallet, tap “Add Apple Account” from the menu of cards you can add. After selecting it, you’ll be informed of your current Apple Account balance. Subsequently, the app will digitally add the card to your wallet, allowing you to view and deposit funds.
Transit Cards
You can store compatible travel cards in your wallet if you frequently travel by mass transit. However, compatibility depends on your location.
The countries currently supporting Apple Wallet transit cards are the United States, Canada, China mainland, France, Hong Kong, and Japan. To find a list of compatible cards, open your Wallet app and search for or select your specific brand while adding a transit card.
To add a card, you do not need an existing card or account. You can add money and check your balance anytime within the Wallet app without an existing one. To add a transit card, tap “Transit Card” from the card types you can add. After selecting it, you must add funds to your digital card, agree to its terms, confirm with Apple Pay, and then add the card to your wallet.
If your local public transport authority supports the use of credit or debit cards to register trips, you can use your standard Apple Play-enabled payment card instead (no need to add it as a transit card or nominate it as such in the app).
Debit and Credit Cards
The Wallet app can be used to add a variety of debit and credit cards. Compatible cards can be issued by Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover, UnionPay, and JCB (Japan Credit Bureau).
Once you tap on “Debit or Credit Card” while adding a card, you have three options: hold your iPhone near the chip on your physical card, scan your card’s information using the camera, or manually enter your card’s details. After your iPhone obtains the information it needs, it will confirm with your bank and add the card to your wallet.
Driver’s License and State ID
Although not all state driver’s licenses or IDs are compatible with Apple Wallet, a handful are. These include Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, and Puerto Rico.
If your state allows you to add it to your wallet, you will scan the front and back of your ID, verify that it is you whose ID you are scanning, and then send it to your DMV for approval. Once approved, it will be added to your Apple Wallet.
Home Keys
If you have a HomeKit-compatible door lock, you can add home keys to your wallet app. This lets you control the door lock like you would Apple Pay: by holding your iPhone near it.
You cannot add the home key from the Wallet app, but after adding the lock and selecting an unlocking option, you can add it from the Home app. Once you do, everyone in your house will automatically see a home key in their Wallet app.
What About Unsupported Cards?
Although Apple Wallet has expanded the cards it supports, it does not support every card you have. Furthermore, you’re out of luck if a digital version of a card doesn’t support exporting to your Apple Wallet.
However, with the help of the Pass2U Wallet app, you can design, customize, and add personalized cards to your Apple Wallet. Additionally, you can do all of this for free.
With the Pass2U app, you can add different card types with varying barcode styles. These include Code 128, Code 39, EAN-8, EAN-13, UPC-A barcodes, and QR codes.
Once you pick a barcode style, you can select the style of your pass. While they all have the same function, their appearance will be distinct, with different areas being customizable. You can choose a generic layout or one that closely resembles an event ticket, boarding pass, coupon, or store card.
Creating your own Apple Wallet passes is beneficial because it allows you to convert non-supported cards into compatible ones. These could include library cards or small-business loyalty cards.
If it uses a barcode or QR code, you can create one in the Pass2U app. You won’t have to dig through your bag to get your card anymore; you can just pull out your phone, open the Wallet app, and present the digitalized version.
This is great because you most likely take your phone everywhere, which means you’ll also take your digital wallet everywhere too. You won’t forget them at home; you can access them nearly anytime with a few taps.
Adding Unsupported Card With Pass2U
While there are various barcode options, there are also multiple ways to add them to your digital cards. Regardless of the method you select, the endpoint remains the same.
From within the wallet section of the Pass2U app, tap the plus icon at the bottom right of the screen. This will open a menu with different ways to add or create a pass.
If you’re converting a physical card to a digitalized version of itself, you can use your iPhone’s camera to scan its barcode message. Once recognized, you’ll be asked if you want to convert the barcode into Apple Wallet pass format. You’ll also be prompted to choose the pass’s style if you confirm the conversion.
If the barcode is not recognized, you can manually enter the message. First, you must choose which barcode style you want to showcase, and then you can type the barcode message in the field labeled “Enter the barcode.”
You can also make personalized barcodes that lead to specific links and locations. For instance, you can generate a QR code that directs you to one of your social media pages by entering the link in the same field where you’d input the barcode message.
Another way to import a barcode is to have the app scan it from a photo within your photo library. This is great for brands with loyalty cards in their apps but doesn’t allow you to export them to your Apple Wallet.
To import it to the Pass2U app, screenshot the barcode or QR code from the native app. Then, from within the Pass2U app, select the “Get the barcode from an image” option from the same menu when tapping the plus icon.
Once you import the image into the app, you will be prompted with the same message you would receive if you scanned the barcode with your camera. This includes confirming the creation of an Apple Wallet card, and then you’ll select a card style.
Regardless of how you incorporate a barcode into the app, you’ll ultimately reach the same endpoint: the ability to customize the pass’s appearance and content.
Downloading an Existing Design or Creating Your Own
When deciding how to configure the pass design for your barcode, you have two options: you can create one from scratch or download one from the Pass Store.
When creating your pass from scratch, you’ll receive its skeleton, which you can configure in various ways. You can customize your pass with a logo, header, title, and subtext for more specific titles. You can also change the background, text, and content colors and add more fields if desired.
When everything is to your liking, select “Done” in the upper right of the screen, and then export the pass to your Apple Wallet.
Alternatively, you can also download designs made by other users. This is great for finding cards specifically for the brand your account is from.
When going into the app, navigate to the Pass Store section on the screen’s lower left. From there, you will see three sections you can dig through: popular pass designs, new pass designs, and pass designs you’ve created.
If you’re not seeing the style you want or are looking for a specific brand, you can tap the magnifying glass in the upper right of the screen to search the Pass Store. Once you do, you can type in the template name you are looking for, like if you’re looking for a library card template or one for your BJ’s membership card. After selecting one, you can customize different areas of the pass.
After configuring all sections to your liking, tap “Done” in the upper right of the screen and export the pass to Apple Wallet.
Exporting and Saving Your Pass
Once you’ve configured your pass, you can export it to the Wallet app, and a version of the card will also be automatically saved within the Pass2U app.
When the card is added to the Wallet app, it is available immediately and can be accessed like you would find your other cards, by double-tapping the Side button on your iPhone. Additionally, the same passes are also available on your Apple Watch.
Having the card saved in the Pass2U app allows you to edit it after exporting it to your Apple Wallet. This includes editing the same sections you could when initially configuring the pass. If you edit the card, you must export it again to your wallet. Fortunately, when you do, it’ll automatically replace the existing pass and delete the old version.
Deleting the pass from the Pass2U app will also delete it from your Apple Wallet. This cannot be undone unless you archive the card.
Adding cards to your Apple Wallet and creating your own digital passes can get you closer to the goal of replacing your physical wallet a digital one. Pass2U is free, but there is also a paid version if you want to unlock the full suite of customization options.
