What’s New in Apple Wallet
Apple Wallet’s latest update adds Apple Wallet custom passes and iOS 27 bill splitting, so users can turn physical cards into digital passes and share payments directly from their iPhone. These digital wallet features build on Wallet’s existing strengths for payments, tickets, keys and IDs, while answering long-standing requests for more customization and easier group payments. With iOS 27, Apple Wallet is no longer limited to cards and passes issued through official integrations. You can scan your own loyalty or membership cards into the app, or create passes from screenshots when there is no camera-readable card. At the same time, the new Split Bill option uses Apple Intelligence and Siri mode in the camera to read receipts and divide costs. Together, these Apple Wallet updates reduce dependence on separate loyalty, ticket and bill-splitting apps, and keep more of your daily transactions in one familiar place on your iPhone.
Creating Custom Passes from Physical Cards
Custom passes let you turn almost any card with a barcode into a digital pass that lives inside Apple Wallet. According to Pocket-lint, the feature appears under a new “Create a Pass” option after you tap the plus (+) button in Wallet. From there, you can scan a physical card with your iPhone camera or enter details manually if you prefer. When you scan, Siri mode in the camera taps into Apple Intelligence to read the card’s layout and barcode, then generates a digital version ready to save. That means loyalty programs, gym memberships or club cards that never had official Wallet support can now sit beside your payment cards and transit passes. This addresses a common frustration for Wallet users who had to juggle separate apps or plastic cards for rewards points and access. One limitation: the Apple Intelligence-based scanning requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
Real-World Uses for Custom Passes
Once you add Apple Wallet custom passes, everyday routines become smoother. Store loyalty cards you usually keep on a keyring, so you can scan your phone at checkout instead of digging for plastic. Membership cards for gyms, coworking spaces, libraries or clubs can also be digitized, making it easier to prove membership without carrying a bulky wallet. Event tickets that arrive as PDFs or screenshots can be turned into passes too, so they appear on your lock screen near showtime instead of living in your photo roll. CNET notes that these new digital passes can be pinned to the Smart Stack on Apple Watch, so a flick of the wrist brings up your most-used cards. The more you move cards into Wallet, the less you rely on third-party wallet apps or paper, and the more consistent your experience becomes across iPhone and Apple Watch.
How iOS 27 Bill Splitting Works
The new iOS 27 bill splitting feature turns a messy receipt into a clear list of who owes what. In Siri mode, you point your camera at a printed receipt, and Apple Intelligence recognizes the items and total. From there, a “Split Bill” action appears. Apple explains that as users select their items, “their total payment is calculated, including their share of tax and tip, so they can pay back exactly what they owe with Apple Cash.” You can use Split Bill from Apple Wallet, in Messages, or right inside the camera’s Siri mode. Requests are sent via Apple Cash, so you stay inside the Apple ecosystem from scan to settlement. This makes group dinners, shared groceries, or birthday gifts easier to settle without manual math or separate bill-splitting apps, as long as everyone uses Apple Cash and supports Wallet’s peer-to-peer payments.
Fitting These Tools into Your Daily Wallet Workflow
These Apple Wallet updates sit on top of the app’s existing infrastructure, so there is little new to learn. Custom passes live alongside your payment cards, boarding passes, transit cards and hotel keys, so you can drag them into your preferred order and use the same double-click side button gesture at terminals. The updated Orders view, which uses Apple Intelligence to track deliveries from online purchases, is easier to reach, and hotel keys gain richer trip details and service shortcuts inside Wallet. On Apple Watch, you can pin new passes into Smart Stack for quick wrist access. Meanwhile, the redesigned Apple Pay checkout lets you swipe between cards more easily, making it simpler to pick the right payment source. Taken together, the new digital wallet features bring loyalty, access, orders and shared payments into one place, reducing the need for separate apps while staying consistent with the Wallet experience you already know.
