How to create a membership card for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet
Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are no longer just for boarding passes and bank cards. A club or association can put a membership card in them, free for the member, without them installing anything. Here is how it works and what it changes for a club.
What a Wallet “pass” is
A pass is a small signed file that describes a card: colours, logo, fields (name, tier, number, validity), a barcode or QR code, and information on the back. Apple calls it a pass (.pkpass format), Google calls it a “Wallet object”. Either way, the card is displayed in the Wallet app already on the phone, and works offline.
What a club can customise
- The background, text and label colours.
- The logo, the icon and a strip image (Apple) or hero image (Google).
- The fields: member name, tier, number, member since, valid until, benefits.
- The back of the card: opening hours, address, contact details, terms.
- The QR code scanned at the door.
What the club doesn’t choose: the layout. Apple and Google set the position of the fields and the font, so that every card stays readable. Putting text inside images is also not allowed.
Automatic updates
This is the real advantage over a printed card. When the club renews a membership or changes a tier, the pass is updated remotely: the card changes on the member’s phone, and Apple or Google can show a notification (“Card valid until 30/06/2027”).
How members receive their card
Through a link. The club sends it by email, SMS or WhatsApp; the member opens it on their phone and taps “Add to Apple Wallet” or “Add to Google Wallet”. There is no account to create and no password.
What you need to create passes
Technically, you need an Apple Developer certificate, a Google Wallet API account, and a server that signs and updates the passes. That is what MPass does for you: you choose a template for your activity, import your members, and the passes are created, signed and updated automatically.
Three mistakes to avoid
- Putting the club’s name as text in the strip image: Apple and Google advise against it, and it won’t be translated.
- Forgetting the expiry date: without it, a card stays “valid” in the Wallet forever.
- Building your own app: members won’t install an app for a card. The Wallet is already there.