What Apple Wallet Custom Passes Are and Why They Matter
Apple Wallet custom passes are user-created digital versions of physical cards and barcodes that store membership, ticket, or loyalty information alongside your existing payment and ID cards, reducing the need to carry a thick physical wallet while keeping essential details a tap away on your iPhone. In iOS 27, Apple adds a Create a Pass feature so you can turn almost any barcode-based card into an iOS 27 digital pass, even if the provider has no app. This fills a long-standing gap where concert tickets, gym memberships, or local loyalty cards were stuck as paper or plastic. Instead of juggling third-party tools, you now keep a single digital barcode wallet in Apple Wallet, organize everything in one place, and access it from the same interface you already use for payments, IDs, tickets, and transit cards.
How to Create a Digital Pass from a Physical Card
To create membership cards and other passes in Apple Wallet, open Wallet and tap the plus button at the top. Choose Create a Pass under Add to Wallet, labelled for tickets, membership cards and more. You’ll see two paths: Visual Intelligence scanning or manual entry. Visual Intelligence uses a new Siri mode in the camera to scan your physical card or a screenshot, detect the barcode, and build the pass automatically; Pocket-lint notes that this requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer because it relies on Apple Intelligence. If Visual Intelligence isn’t available or you prefer control, pick the manual option. You’ll select a template, enter the name, membership number, and any barcode, then confirm. Once saved, your new pass sits in Apple Wallet with your other cards, ready to be shown at checkouts, doors, or service counters.
Manually Designing and Customizing Your Passes
Manual creation takes a bit more work, but it lets you fine-tune your Apple Wallet custom passes. After you tap Create a Pass and choose manual, Wallet presents templates, such as Membership layouts for loyalty or gym cards. You’ll add basics like the pass name, member name, membership ID, and expiration date, plus the barcode or QR code from the physical card. You can also adjust optional fields like notes or tier labels, then choose a background color or design so each pass is easy to spot at a glance. AppleInsider notes that the process is not taxing, but you do need to have the relevant information in front of you. When finished, the pass appears in your digital barcode wallet with the layout you defined, so memberships, tickets, and access cards are visually distinct and quicker to find on your iPhone.
Organizing and Using Your New Digital Barcode Wallet
Once you create membership cards and tickets as iOS 27 digital passes, the next step is keeping them organized. Group similar items by naming them clearly, such as “SuperMart Loyalty” or “Downtown Gym,” and delete duplicates so your pass list stays short. Place frequently used passes near payment cards so they appear quickly when you open Wallet, and pin event or travel passes before a big day. Because custom passes sit alongside payment and ID cards, you can tap into your digital barcode wallet at checkouts, turnstiles, or venue entry points without digging around. For offline venues or smaller organizations, show the barcode directly from Wallet for scanning. Over time, convert every physical barcode you use regularly—store loyalty, library, club membership, or visitor badges—so your phone becomes the single trusted place for everyday access and perks.
Using the New Bill-Splitting Tools in Apple Wallet
iOS 27 also brings bill-splitting into Apple Wallet, making it easier to settle group tabs after a meal or shared activity. When you point your iPhone camera at a receipt in Siri Mode, Apple Intelligence reads the items and surfaces an option to Split Bill. As CNET explains, Apple Intelligence turns the receipt into an actionable list so you can tap the items each person ordered; the system then calculates what each person owes, including their share of tax and tip, and lets you send payment requests with Apple Cash. This feature appears in Wallet, Messages, and the camera’s Siri Mode, so you can start from whichever app you’re already using. Combined with Apple Wallet custom passes, iOS 27 turns Wallet into a central hub not only for paying and storing cards, but also for managing everyday group payments.
