It’s Hard to Believe Apple Waited This Long to Add Such a Simple iPhone Feature, Considering How Ridiculous the Old Way of Doing It Was

Apple Wallet can now hold more than just payment cards, tickets, and boarding passes. With iOS 27, you can create your own digital passes for loyalty cards, gym memberships, library cards, and more.

Previously, adding these cards required the business or organization to support Apple Wallet. Now you can create a Wallet pass yourself, even if the business doesn’t offer one.

The feature works with cards that use barcodes or QR codes, so you can leave more of those plastic cards at home.

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How to Add Any Loyalty Card to Apple Wallet

You can create a pass in two ways, depending on your iPhone.

Option 1: Scan a card with Visual Intelligence

If your iPhone supports Apple Intelligence, you can turn a physical card into a digital pass using the camera.

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Tap the Add Card (+) button.
3. Select Create a Pass.
4. Photograph your card, making sure the barcode or QR code is visible.
5. Review the information and make any necessary corrections.
6. Save the pass to Apple Wallet.

Option 2: Create a pass manually

You can also add cards without Apple Intelligence.

1. Open Wallet and tap the Add Card (+) button.
2. Choose Create Pass Manually.
3. Select Standard, Membership, or Event.
4. Enter the card name, membership number, and other details.
5. Scan the barcode or QR code with your camera.
6. Customize the pass and save it.

The manual option also lets you adjust the background color and choose which information appears on the pass.

Also: You are completely right, and that was an oversight. Here is the corrected version with the first word properly capitalized:

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Your New Cards Also Work on Apple Watch

Once you’ve created a pass, it automatically syncs to Apple Wallet on your paired Apple Watch.

That means you can scan your gym membership, library card, or loyalty barcode directly from your wrist without reaching for your iPhone.

It’s particularly useful for businesses that still issue physical membership cards but haven’t developed their own Wallet integration.

What Cards Won’t Work?

There are a few limitations.

Cards that rely exclusively on magnetic strips or embedded chips can’t be converted into functional Wallet passes. The same applies to situations where a business requires a physical card or photo ID.

You’ll also need an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence to use the automatic scanning option, although manual pass creation works without it.

The feature is available in iOS 27, giving iPhone users a simple way to digitize everyday cards without downloading another app or waiting for businesses to support Apple Wallet.