Apple Wallet pass

An Apple Wallet pass is a signed file that lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Because it is signed by a certificate tied to a developer account, it can be updated after it is installed: a stamp count can change, a balance can move, and the pass can appear on the lock screen near your shop. That is what separates a pass from a loyalty card that is really a photograph.

In practice

A Wallet pass is a signed file that lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Because it is signed by a certificate tied to a developer account, it can be updated after it is installed: a stamp count can change, a balance can move, and the pass can appear on the lock screen near your shop.

That is the difference between a pass and a loyalty card that is really a photograph. A photograph cannot update, cannot notify and cannot be scanned reliably.

The practical requirements are a signing identity, a pass type identifier, and somewhere for the phone to fetch updates from. Those are build decisions, and they are why a pass takes a day of real work rather than an afternoon in a design tool.

Also called: Apple Wallet loyalty card, digital stamp card.

Questions people ask about apple wallet pass

What can a Wallet pass do that an image cannot?

Update itself, notify, and be scanned reliably. A photograph of a loyalty card cannot change its stamp count, cannot appear on a lock screen when the customer is near your shop, and scans badly under a counter light. The signature is what makes the rest possible.

What is needed to issue Wallet passes?

A signing identity, a pass type identifier and a service the phone can fetch updates from. Those are build decisions rather than design ones, which is why a working pass is a day of real work rather than an afternoon in a design tool.

Do Wallet passes work on Android?

Google Wallet has its own pass format with the same basic properties - signed, installable, updatable - so a loyalty scheme normally issues both rather than choosing. The customer-facing difference is small; the implementation is two sets of credentials.

Sources, checked 26 October 2026

Apple, Wallet Passes: creating, signing, distributing and updating passes