In this step-by-step tutorial, we show you how to create custom passes for gift cards, event tickets, membership cards, loyalty cards, and more, so you can keep them with you on your iPhone and Apple Watch.
When you book a movie or plane ticket, the app will often show an “Add to Wallet” button so you can save it to the iOS Wallet app. Similarly, you can add your payment cards to it.
iOS 27 expands on this: instead of leaving you at the mercy of the app developer to implement Add to Wallet support, you can create custom passes yourself.
So, if you have digital or physical loyalty cards, membership cards, insurance cards, coupons, and other such items, you can add them to the iOS 27 Wallet app so they are always with you on your iPhone and Apple Watch.
If the details are clear and the item has a QR code or barcode, Apple’s Visual Intelligence feature should be able to scan it and automatically create a relevant pass. You can always edit things if needed.
In case the automatic method doesn’t work for any reason, you can choose a pass template design and add everything manually to create one. More on it below.
But remember, this digital pass system works best for things with a fixed QR code or barcode. Plus, they must not need to be checked physically. For example, suppose you added a loyalty card to it, but the establishment in question needs you to present your physical card. In this case, the Wallet version may not be fully useful, though it will still be helpful because it will show details like your membership number, expiry date, etc., as added.
Scan and create a pass in the Wallet app
Visual Intelligence can scan a photo or use the camera to scan a physical item and turn it into a pass.
1) Update your iPhone to iOS 27.
2) Open the Wallet app and tap the plus sign at the top.
3) Select Create a Pass.
4) Tap Continue and do one of the following:
- Tap the photo icon and select an item from your gallery so Visual Intelligence can scan its barcode.
- Or, to create a digital pass for a physical item, place it under the camera scanner and tap the shutter button. Make sure to take a full picture of the physical card so it captures all information, and so you can see the full original image later if needed. You can also point it at a QR code or barcode, and it should fetch and add it to the pass.
5) If your card has relevant details, it should now be filled in the pass that Wallet has cerated for you. If automatic details don’t show up, tap Edit Pass, fill in the details manually (more on it in the manual section below), and tap the checkmark icon to save it.
Fill in the details manually and create a pass
You can enter the details manually to create a pass. For example, if you’re part of a small club that doesn’t use barcodes but instead uses a simple number- or email-address-based membership, you can save those details in the Wallet app and access them easily.
1) Open the iOS 27 Wallet app, tap the plus button, select Create a Pass, then tap Create Pass Manually.
2) Now choose a template: Custom, Membership, Event. All three are fundamentally the same, but Membership and Event already show the relevant fields, so you can fill in your info right away; with Custom, you’ll need to add the desired fields first, then fill in your personal data. Both are easy, but we’ll demonstrate using the Custom option so you can understand it better.
3) The Custom template is a clean slate, and here’s how to use it:
- First, add your pass name (e.g., Tree Hill Gym) in the top-left corner. This is what will show up as the name in the Wallet app among your other passes.
- Then tap an existing custom label, number, or date and give it your desired title (like Locker Number) and actual value (like 67). Repeat this for other fields as needed.
- If you don’t need to keep a field, tap the settings icon in the lower right corner and select Add/Remove Fields. Next, tap the tiny minus (-) button to remove an existing filed. Then tap an empty or space-available field to bring up the “Add Pass Fields” screen. You’ll see relevant fields listed under Custom, Contact, Membership, Coupon, and Insurance headings. Tap to add one to the pass you are building. This is almost identical to adding app widgets to the iPhone Lock Screen, then tapping the widget to customize it.
- You don’t need to add a code or fill in all the fields if you don’t have that data.
- Once everything is in order, you can customize the pass appearance by tapping the color palette icon in the lower-left corner. Choose a background color (12 colors and 4 textures, including one solid uni-color option). Or select Choose from Library to pick one of the seven card styles, all of which seem AI-generated.
4) With everything in order, tap the checkmark icon to save it. Any fields you didn’t fill will not appear on your final pass.
Custom pass on Apple Watch
Passes you create in the Wallet app on your iPhone will automatically sync to your Apple Watch and you can access them in the watchOS Wallet app or by double-pressing the side button.
Access your pass
Simply open the Wallet app on your iPhone or Apple Watch to see all your passes and tap to view it on the big screen.
Edit your existing pass
Access your pass on iPhone, tap the three-dot icon, and select Edit Pass. Make the changes as explained earlier in the creation process, then tap the checkmark to save.
Share your pass
You can share your pass with your friends and family via Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.
Open your pass, tap the share icon, select an app in the iOS Share Sheet, and send it.
If you’re sharing via Messages, it will be sent as a rich wallet app preview card. Third-party platforms share it as an attachment whose file name is a string of numbers with the .pkpass extension.
Whatever medium you choose to share, the recipient will need to tap it to add it to their iOS Wallet app or Google Wallet app if they are on Android (though it failed for me after the initial steps).
Remove a pass
Access your pass, tap the three-dot icon, then select Remove Pass.
What will you use this for?
Also, check out: How to track all your orders in the Wallet app on iPhone