iOS 27 and Apple Wallet: What Changes for Australian Loyalty Programs

iOS 27 changes Apple Wallet for loyalty and membership programs in four ways: customers can create a pass from a physical card themselves ("Create a Pass"), businesses get a bolder pass style called Poster Generic, passes can carry up to two tappable Featured Actions, and Wallet reads four more barcode formats. Apple released iOS 27 for iPhone on 14 September 2026. For an Australian business the practical answer is that your existing loyalty pass keeps working, a few new options are worth planning, and one headline feature is limited by device and language rather than by country. This post sets out what is confirmed, with sources, and what we could not verify.

What is confirmed, and where it comes from

Apple announced the Wallet changes at WWDC26, and its session "What's new in Wallet" is the primary source for the pass format changes (Apple: What's new in Wallet). Apple's support page covers Create a Pass (Apple Support: Create a pass using Siri Mode in Apple Wallet). Press coverage supplies the rest, including the release date (MacRumors: iOS 27 Wallet guide, MacDailyNews).

Change 1: Customers can create their own pass

Create a Pass lets a customer turn a physical card or ticket with a barcode or QR code into a Wallet pass. Apple's support page lists three methods: from a photo or screenshot, with the Camera, or manually in Wallet with a standard, membership or event template.

Requirements matter for planning. Apple states the scan routes need an iPhone 15 Pro or later that supports Apple Intelligence, the latest iOS and visual intelligence turned on. It also says Apple Intelligence features are limited by device, language and region, and that Siri AI is in beta on iOS 27 and available in English to start. We found no source confirming when or whether every Australian iPhone user will see the scan option, so do not assume your whole customer base can use it.

What it means for you: some customers will put your plastic or paper card in Wallet whether or not you offer a pass. That pass is a copy of the barcode. You cannot update it, message it or change its design. A branded pass you issue is still the better experience. The detail is in scanning a loyalty card into Apple Wallet.

Change 2: Poster Generic, a bolder pass style

Apple introduced a new pass style, posterGeneric, which requires iOS 27 or later. Per Apple's session, the face has a background image, a primary logo, header fields, primary fields, a footer field and a barcode if supplied. Only one footer field is shown. For iOS 26 and earlier, Apple says to include the existing generic style key alongside posterGeneric, so customers on older phones can still add the pass.

MacRumors reports the style is aimed at memberships, gift cards, loyalty cards and rewards cards.

What it means for you: a strong photo or brand image can now carry the front of a membership pass. Plan one good background image, and keep the existing design working for older iPhones. This is a design task for your pass provider; ask whether and when they support it.

Change 3: Featured Actions

From iOS 27, a pass can carry up to two featured actions, which Wallet draws below the pass with an icon and a localised call to action. Apple says they work with all pass styles. In pass.json they live in a top-level featuredActions array, and each action has an identifier, a type and a value such as a URL. The full list of types is in Apple's Wallet Passes documentation. See Apple Wallet Featured Actions for businesses for how to choose them.

Change 4: More barcode formats

Wallet adds EAN-13, Code 39, Codabar and ITF. Apple recommends listing barcodes in priority order, because iOS 26 and earlier do not support the new formats. If you supply only a new type, the pass will not show a barcode on older iPhones. If your existing card uses one of these formats, you can now match it exactly, but still include a QR or Code 128 barcode as a fallback.

Other iOS 27 Wallet changes to know about

• Order Tracking expands to Australia. MacRumors reports Wallet's order tracking is available in Australia and Canada in iOS 27; in iOS 26 it was limited to the United States and the United Kingdom. This is the only Australia-specific change we found.
• Pass issuer certificate check. MacRumors says users can check the pass issuer certificate to verify a pass.
• A Mac design app and a signing library. Apple's session describes Pass Designer, a Mac app for designing pass templates, and Pass Builder, a Swift package for personalising and signing passes at scale. These are for developers; a platform may or may not use them.

What Australian businesses should do now

1. Test your current pass on iOS 27. Add it, check the barcode scans and check updates still arrive. Apple has not announced removing any existing style, but test rather than assume.
2. Check your barcode. Make sure your passes list a widely supported format, such as QR or Code 128, in case customers still run older iOS versions.
3. Expect copies of your card. Some customers will scan your plastic card into Wallet. Decide whether your till accepts that barcode and tell staff.
4. Plan one hero image for membership passes, in case your provider supports Poster Generic.
5. Choose two actions you would want below a pass, such as your offers page or booking link.
6. Keep privacy in mind. If you add actions or messages, the same Australian rules on spam and privacy apply.

Where Shakewell Wallet stands

We checked our code before writing this. Shakewell Wallet's builder issues Apple Wallet passes in the existing styles, and it does not currently set featuredActions or the posterGeneric style. Passes are signed with Shakewell's own certificate, and customer data is stored in Sydney. See our Australia page and Apple Wallet setup. We will update this post when that changes.

Frequently asked questions

When did iOS 27 launch? Press coverage reports iOS 27 launched for iPhone on 14 September 2026.

Will my existing Apple Wallet loyalty pass stop working on iOS 27? We found no Apple announcement removing existing pass styles, and Apple's guidance for the new style tells you to keep the older key for iOS 26 and earlier. Test your own pass on an iOS 27 iPhone.

Can any Australian iPhone user create a pass from a physical card? Only on devices and languages Apple supports. Apple requires an iPhone 15 Pro or later with Apple Intelligence and visual intelligence on, and says features vary by region and language.

Do I need to reissue passes for iOS 27? Apple's session does not say you must. New styles and actions only appear if your passes include them.

Is there anything specific to Australia? The one Australia-specific change we could verify is Order Tracking expanding to Australia.