Apple Wallet Loyalty Card: What an Apple Wallet Pass Is
By Alva Chew · Updated
Definition An Apple Wallet loyalty card is a store card pass saved in the Wallet app on an iPhone, where it can show points or a balance and be updated after each purchase. The business signs each pass with an Apple-issued certificate, and customers can add it from an app, email, the web or a QR code. Most small shops get this through loyalty software, so ask any provider whether it supports Apple Wallet by name.
What is an Apple Wallet loyalty card?
An Apple Wallet loyalty card is a pass saved in the Wallet app on a customer’s iPhone. Apple’s pass styles include boarding pass, coupon, event ticket, store card and generic. A loyalty card uses the store card style, which Apple describes as covering “store loyalty cards, discount cards, points cards, and gift cards”.
It is one kind of digital wallet pass and one form of a digital loyalty card. The same idea exists on Android as Google Wallet.
Source: Apple Developer, Wallet and Get started with Wallet, opened 6 November 2026.
What can the pass show?
Apple says that if the account behind a store card carries a balance, the pass can be updated to display it. Its loyalty pass page says passes can give “real-time alerts, such as updates on points, balances, seasonal campaigns, and offers”.
Passes can be updated by push notifications or by the customer pulling down to refresh on the back of the pass. That is how a points balance can change after each purchase.
How does a customer add one?
Apple says passes are distributed in an app, by email or on the web, and that users can add a pass without installing the related app. Its loyalty page lists SMS, email, NFC tags and QR codes among the ways to hand out a pass.
Apple also describes a second route that starts at a payment terminal. After an Apple Pay purchase at a contactless terminal, the customer is invited to join, and the pass is added automatically. That route has extra requirements:
- Apple says it applies only with select programs and needs an NFC certificate.
- The terminal must already accept Apple Pay and be certified for VAS.
- The point-of-sale software must handle the “VAS Only” and “Payment and VAS” modes.
Source: Apple Developer, Loyalty passes, opened 6 November 2026.
A QR code at the till needs none of that terminal work. See a loyalty card with no app download for how joining at the counter plays out.
What does it take to issue one?
Apple says to use the PassKit framework to create, distribute and update passes. To be recognised by Wallet, each pass must be signed with an Apple-issued certificate tied to your Apple developer account.
| Item | What Apple says |
|---|---|
| Signing | Passes must be signed with an Apple-issued certificate |
| Expired certificate | Installed passes keep working, but you cannot sign new passes or send updates |
| Revoked certificate | Passes no longer function properly |
Source: Apple Developer, Get started with Wallet, opened 6 November 2026.
You will not write this yourself. A loyalty platform signs and updates the passes for you, so the certificate and its renewal become the provider’s job. Ask who holds it.
Apple Wallet pass or Google Wallet pass?
| Question | Apple Wallet | Google Wallet |
|---|---|---|
| Phone it lives on | iPhone | Android phone |
| Pass style for loyalty | Store card | Loyalty card |
| Needs a separate shop app | No | No |
| Issuer setup | Apple developer account and signing certificate | Issuer account in Google’s console |
Sources: Apple Developer pages above, and Google for Developers, Google Wallet loyalty cards, checked 4 November 2026.
What should you check before choosing a provider?
- Which wallets it supports, by exact name. “Digital wallet” on its own does not tell you.
- Whether you can add the card to your own phone and see the points change after a test purchase.
- Whether staff can scan the pass with a phone they already own.
- Whether one points balance works at every outlet. The rules behind the card come from a points-based loyalty program.
Gimify and wallet cards
Gimify’s member card is a Google Wallet card with a live points balance and a scannable code. Members join by scanning a QR code and entering their email, and staff add or redeem points on any phone at the counter.
Questions owners ask
What is an Apple Wallet loyalty card?
A pass in the store card style, saved in the Wallet app on an iPhone. Apple describes store cards as loyalty cards, discount cards, points cards and gift cards.
Does a customer need an app to add an Apple Wallet pass?
No. Apple's developer pages say users can add a pass without installing the related app, or add a pass that has no related app at all.
Can an Apple Wallet pass show a points balance?
Yes. Apple says a store card with a balance can be updated to display the current balance, and loyalty passes can carry real-time alerts on points.
How does a business create an Apple Wallet pass?
Through Apple's PassKit framework. Each pass must be signed with a certificate issued by Apple and linked to the business's Apple developer account. Loyalty software normally handles this.
How is an Apple Wallet pass different from a Google Wallet pass?
Both are cards saved in a phone's wallet app, but each belongs to a different platform with its own tools and rules. A provider that supports one does not necessarily support the other, so ask for the exact wallet name.
Read next
Start free
Gimify is free for one outlet with unlimited members and no time limit. Unlimited outlets are one flat monthly price.
See plans