How to Create an Apple Wallet Pass for Your Business: Step by Step

To create an Apple Wallet pass for your business, you need five things: a pass design (logo, colours and the fields customers should see), a signed .pkpass file for each customer, a way to put that file on their iPhone, a barcode your staff can scan, and a test on a real device. You can build and sign the files yourself with Apple's developer tools, or use a wallet pass platform that does the signing and delivery for you. This guide covers both routes, step by step, so you can pick the one that suits your team.

What an Apple Wallet pass actually is

An Apple Wallet pass is a small signed package with the extension .pkpass. It holds a pass.json file that describes the fields and barcode, a few images, a manifest of file hashes, and a signature (Apple: Building a pass). When a customer opens the file on an iPhone, Wallet checks the signature and offers to add the pass.

Each customer gets their own pass, because the barcode and fields (name, stamp count, member number) are different for every person. That is why creating a pass is really two jobs: design a template once, then issue one signed pass per customer.

Step 1: Choose the pass type

Apple defines five pass styles: boardingPass, coupon, eventTicket, generic and storeCard (Apple: Creating the source for a pass). For most businesses the choice is simple.

If you use a platform, you choose the type of card in its builder (for example a stamp card or a membership card) and it picks the style for you.

Step 2: Design what goes on the pass

Keep the face of the pass short. Customers glance at it at a counter. Decide:

• Branding: a logo and one or two brand colours. Apple requires an icon image in the package; a logo and a banner image are optional.
• The one number that matters: stamps collected, points balance, tier or expiry date.
• A few supporting fields: the customer's name or member number, and the reward they are working towards.
• The barcode: the code staff will scan. Encode a customer or pass ID, not personal details.

Apple's pass format has long supported QR, Aztec, PDF417 and Code 128 barcodes. iOS 27 adds four more formats (see iOS 27 and Apple Wallet), but older iPhones do not read them, so these four remain the safe choice. If you want to see how a code will sit on a pass before you commit, the free QR code to wallet pass tool previews it in your browser.

Step 3: Get the signing set-up right

Every pass must be signed with a certificate tied to a Pass Type ID, which is created in an Apple Developer account. Apple also publishes the intermediate certificate (WWDR) that completes the chain. Passes that are unsigned, or signed with an expired certificate, will not add.

If you build passes yourself, that means joining the Apple Developer Program, creating a Pass Type ID, generating a certificate signing request, downloading the certificate and renewing it before it expires. Our guide to Apple Wallet pass certificates explains each step and the common failures.

If you use Shakewell Wallet, you skip this step. Passes are signed with Shakewell's own certificate, so you do not need an Apple Developer account of your own, and certificates are renewed for you. Using your own certificate is a separate option that is not part of standard plans (see Apple Wallet setup). NFC tap-to-enter passes are the exception, because Apple approves NFC for each Pass Type ID.

Step 4: Build the pass

You have three realistic routes.

Route A: A wallet pass platform (fastest)

1. Sign up and open the card builder.
2. Choose the card type, name the card, and set the reward rule if it is a stamp card.
3. Upload your logo and pick colours. A live preview shows the card as customers will see it.
4. Choose the details customers fill in when they join, such as name and email.
5. Review and publish.

In Shakewell Wallet the builder has four steps (Basics, Brand and design, Pass content, Review), and a logo is needed to publish. One template produces both an Apple Wallet pass and a Google Wallet pass, so you design once. See the loyalty card use case for an example.

Route B: A pass API

If your own system already holds your customers, call a pass API from your code to create one pass per customer and receive an install link. The API quickstart shows the calls. This suits agencies and software teams that want passes inside an existing product.

Route C: Build and sign it yourself

Create the source folder with pass.json and images, generate the manifest, sign it with your certificate and zip it as .pkpass. Apple's documentation walks through each part. This gives complete control, but you also own certificate renewals, an update web service if you want passes to change after install, and the support burden when something fails.

Step 5: Give customers a way to add it

A pass can reach an iPhone from a link, a QR code, an email, an SMS or a button on your website. Apple's own guidance for loyalty passes lists distribution by app, App Clips, SMS, email, NFC tags and QR codes (Apple: Loyalty and membership passes).

For a shop, café or salon the simplest option is a QR code at the counter that opens a signup page. The customer fills in a short form and taps to add the card to Apple Wallet. On a phone that is two taps and there is nothing to download. See how customers get their pass.

Step 6: Test on real devices

Before you print a poster, test the whole path:

1. Scan your own QR code with an iPhone camera and add the pass.
2. Check the pass looks right in Wallet, including in dark mode.
3. Scan the pass barcode with the scanner or app your staff will actually use.
4. Change something (give a stamp, edit a field) and confirm the pass updates.
5. Open the .pkpass in the pkpass validator if it will not add. It runs in your browser and flags missing images, bad JSON and manifest problems.

What it costs and how long it takes

Building by hand costs developer time and the annual Apple Developer Program fee. A platform costs a monthly plan instead. Shakewell Wallet plans are flat monthly with no per-pass fees; see pricing for the current figures. A simple loyalty or membership card on a platform can be designed, published and tested on your own phone in a single sitting.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an Apple Developer account to create an Apple Wallet pass? If you sign passes yourself, yes: the Pass Type ID and certificate come from your account. If you use a platform that signs with its own certificate, such as Shakewell Wallet, you do not need one.

Can customers add the pass without an app? Yes. Wallet is built into the iPhone, so customers only need the link or QR code that opens the pass. No app from you is required.

Can I change a pass after a customer has added it? Yes, if the pass is set up with an update web service, or if your platform handles that for you. Edits then reach the customer's installed pass. See how pass updates and push notifications work.

Does the same pass work on Android? No. An Apple Wallet pass is an iPhone and Apple Watch format. Android uses Google Wallet, which has its own format. A platform can issue both from one template.

What if the pass will not add? The usual causes are a missing icon, an invalid signature or an expired certificate. Check the file with the pkpass validator first.