An Apple Wallet loyalty card: how to create one and how customers add it

How do customers add the loyalty card to Apple Wallet?

Customers add the loyalty card to Apple Wallet in a few taps: they scan your QR code with the iPhone camera, the card opens in Safari and is created straight away, then they tap «Add to Apple Wallet» and confirm with «Add». There is no app to download and no password to create. If the link opens inside another app, such as Instagram, or on a computer, a short sign-up page comes first, with no box to tick: by creating the card the customer accepts the card Terms and confirms they have read the privacy notice.

It is the step Apple describes in its own support article: open the email, notification or other communication that contains the pass and tap «Add to Apple Wallet». From then on the card stays on the iPhone next to their other cards and updates itself after every stamp; how quickly it updates can vary from one device to another.

At the counter customers do not need to hunt for it among their apps: Apple says to double-click the side button (iPhone with Face ID) or the Home button (iPhone with Touch ID), tap the card and, if prompted, authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode. Joining and stamping need an internet connection.

In Italy, in October 2026, 37.93% of smartphone page views came from iOS and 62.06% from Android, according to StatCounter; in September the figures were 36.6% and 63.39%. These are shares of web traffic, not of people: that is why the same card goes into Apple Wallet, into the Google Wallet loyalty card on Android and also works in the browser, as the guide to a loyalty card without an app explains. The Apple Wallet pass is included on every plan: the comparison is on the pricing page.

How do you create a loyalty card for Apple Wallet?

To create your business’s loyalty card for Apple Wallet you need three things: a pass in the «store card» style, which Apple reserves for store loyalty cards, discount cards, points cards and gift cards, a certificate to sign it, and a service that updates it after every visit. You can build it yourself with Apple’s tools or use a service that does it for you.

On your own, you register a pass type identifier (Pass Type ID) and its certificate in your Apple developer account, a step reserved for the account holder or an admin, as Apple’s account help explains. Then you write the pass.json file in the storeCard style, add the images, sign the package and distribute it as a .pkpass file from a website, an email or an app.

Updating stamps also needs a server: the iPhone registers the pass, your server sends a push notification when something changes and the phone downloads the new version. Apple has added the Pass Designer app for Mac, which needs macOS 27: it helps you design the pass and preview it, but the file it produces still has to be built, signed and distributed.

With Iterum (by FIDUS) you skip all of these steps: you choose stamps or points, set the target and reward, pick the design and put the QR code on the counter; Iterum generates, signs and updates both the Apple Wallet and the Google Wallet pass. If you have a developer and want full control of the pass, Apple’s tools are enough: in return you write and maintain the signing, the server and the counter yourself. The choices every card needs are in how to create a loyalty card.

What happens on a visit

The customer shows the card code, from Apple Wallet or the browser. Authorised staff open the «Al banco» app in the browser of a phone, tablet or computer, scan or type the code and confirm the stamp, which appears on the card and updates in the iPhone’s Wallet.

After the confirmation the iPhone may show an alert such as «Stamp recorded»; at the target it reads «Reward ready!» and, when staff record the redemption, «Reward redeemed». An easy counter instruction is: open your card, show it to staff, check your stamps. The sequence is also on how it works.

From the Pro plan, prepaid packages, such as 10 blow-dries or 5 sessions, also go into the Wallet with a QR code that works once within 24 hours. They stay a separate card from the loyalty card, as the guide to the prepaid punch card explains.

Why won’t Apple Wallet add a loyalty card?

On a card’s page or message, the «Add to Apple Wallet» button appears only when the business issues a pass: Apple describes the step as opening the app, email, notification or other communication that contains the pass and tapping it. With the latest iOS a customer can also create a pass themselves in Wallet, manually from «Add Card» and «Create a Pass» or by photographing the barcode or QR code of a physical card; among the requirements Apple lists an iPhone 15 Pro or later compatible with Apple Intelligence and visual intelligence turned on (Apple).

That pass only copies the code: it is not connected to the shop’s system, so it does not update with stamps and does not receive messages, which Apple delivers from the server of whoever issued the pass. That is why it is worth offering customers your own card rather than a home-made copy.

If the card is yours and the button is missing, first check where it opened: inside Instagram or another app, Wallet does not open, and the card explains how to switch to Safari. If the button is missing in Safari too, Apple’s support article says to «contact the merchant or company that issued it to make sure they support passes in the Wallet app». Here the merchant is you: write to us and we will check the card.

Meanwhile the customer loses nothing: they keep using the card from the link, with the same stamps. Apple Wallet is a handy way to keep it within reach, not a condition for taking part.

Are an Apple Wallet loyalty card and Apple Pay the same thing?

No: Apple Pay is for paying, while the loyalty card is a separate pass kept in the same Wallet. Apple provides two ways to use a store card pass: a code to scan, in QR, PDF417, Aztec, Code 128 and other formats, or a contactless NFC reader, and with NFC the pass does not need a code (Apple).

The Iterum card uses the QR code: staff scan it with «Al banco» or type its code. Paying with Apple Pay does not add stamps, because Iterum is not connected to the till: why, and the alternatives, are in loyalty card POS integration, while the differences between code formats are in the guide to barcode loyalty cards.

Do customers receive messages on their iPhone?

Yes, if they saved the card to Apple Wallet and chose «Yes, I want them» for extra rewards and offers, an optional choice they can switch off with one tap on the card. A message of up to 140 characters arrives on the card in the Wallet and may appear on the iPhone lock screen; customers who keep the card only in the browser do not receive it.

You can send it now or schedule it, never between 21:00 and 09:00, within the plan limit: 2, 4 or 8 messages a month per location on Base, Pro or Premium. In a beauty salon, for example, a message to clients not seen for 60 days is worth more than an offer sent to everyone: the «Non vengono da un po’» (not seen for a while) filter in «Messaggi» selects customers missing for 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days. More ideas in how to win back lost customers; for December, wording and timing are in Christmas messages for customers.

How to test it on an iPhone before offering it

Iterum does not replace Apple Wallet, your till or POS, and staff must confirm visits online. The trial lasts 7 days, with a payment card required at activation: the terms are on the free trial page.

1. Open your card’s QR code on the iPhone

   Scan it with the camera so the card opens in Safari rather than inside another app.

2. Tap «Add to Apple Wallet»

   Confirm with «Add» and find the card in the Wallet app, or with a double-click on the side button.

3. Record a visit from the counter

   Have staff scan the code with the «Al banco» app and check that the stamp also shows in the Wallet.

Sources

Sources read on 3 November 2026: Apple, «Add, use and share tickets and passes in Apple Wallet», published 18 September 2025 (Italian version: support.apple.com/it-it/111112), and «Create a pass using Siri Mode in Apple Wallet»; Apple Developer, «Creating a store card pass», «Building a Pass», «Adding a Web Service to Update Passes», «Creating a pass with Pass Designer» and «Create Wallet identifiers and certificates»; Apple, Human Interface Guidelines, Wallet, updated 8 June 2026; StatCounter Global Stats, mobile operating systems in Italy, October and September 2026, shares of page views. Iterum features come from the overview page with the plans, how it works, the video demo and pricing.