6 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Apple Wallet

These days, you’ll often hear the unmistakable chime of Apple Pay more than see people take out their actual wallets to buy something. Apple has come a long way since renaming Passbook to Apple Wallet with iOS 9 in 2015. More than a decade later, Apple Wallet is much more than a digital repository of boarding passes or movie tickets.

This is even more evident with the latest features in iOS 27. Although the latest software update includes quality of life improvements, such as creating personalized passes and splitting bills, you may have missed some of the tricks that Apple Wallet already has. Beyond creating digital copies of your credit cards, we’ve compiled a list of ways to maximize what you get out of Apple Wallet. To view them, open the Wallet app on your device and visit Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay.

Apple has steadily expanded the list of Wallet-compatible companies, but that still doesn’t cover everything. Although third-party apps can work around this issue, in iOS 27 you can natively create custom passes for apps that aren’t already connected to Apple Wallet. This could include your gym’s scan tag or a Costco membership, for example.

You can let Apple Intelligence find out by taking a photo of your physical pass, or you can start with a template using the Standard, Membership Or Event choice. Beyond recording the barcode or QR code of your personalized pass, the new functionality allows you to add more information such as names, dates, membership numbers or admission type. You can even customize each pass with different backgrounds and color combinations.

In classic Apple fashion, a category of third-party apps has been made obsolete with a new Wallet feature in iOS 27. With the latest update, Apple Wallet brings the ability to split a bill by simply looking at a receipt. No need to open Splitwise or Tab anymore; you can simply take a photo of the receipt to pay a bill via Apple Cash.

It appears that Apple is keeping the bill splitting feature exclusive to Apple Cash, so it won’t work with external apps like PayPal or Venmo. Still, the feature takes into account item quantities, taxes, and tips, while directly giving you the option to request payment or pay your portion of the bill.

Traveling is always a stressful activity, especially when you’re double-checking that you have your passport with you every five minutes. Turns out, you can avoid all that fear with the help of Apple Wallet, which can create digital copies of an eligible U.S. driver’s license or passport. Currently, 15 US states and Puerto Rico support driver’s licenses and state ID cards in Apple Wallet, while the US is the only country participating in virtual passports. Check Apple’s Digital ID page to see if your state is on the list.

Your digital ID in Apple Wallet can be used to prove your age or identity at certain businesses and locations, but it can also get you through TSA checkpoints for domestic flights. However, you will still need your physical passport to travel abroad or cross borders.

The days of needing a physical card to enter the New York subway or pay for the Los Angeles subway bus with exact change are long gone. Instead, you can set up payment options for participating transit systems in your Apple Wallet that rely on the contactless payment feature on your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Express Mode makes the transit payment process even faster because it doesn’t require waking up or unlocking your iPhone or Apple Watch. Additionally, Express Mode can still work for a few hours even after your iPhone battery reaches zero percent. This state is known as power reserve mode, in which your device provides a low-power signal so you can still access critical keys and payments until you can recharge it. However, it doesn’t work if you turn off your device.

The main appeal of Apple Wallet is being able to leave your physical wallet at home. But in some cases, you can even leave all your keys. You can store a digital key for compatible locks and smart cars in Wallet. With participating car brands, you can lock, unlock, start your car and even share your virtual car key using your phone.

Like Express Mode for public transportation, a Home Key can unlock your front door for a short time, even when your phone is low on battery. Besides the keys you carry with you every day, Apple Wallet can also load hotel keys, employee badges, student IDs and more, as long as they’re compatible (or via a personalized pass).

Instead of digging through your emails to find out when your order arrives, you can open the Wallet app. Press the three points icon at the top right and choose Orders; Once you give permission, Apple Wallet will search your Mail inbox to identify tracking information and shipping estimates for your orders.

This serves more purpose than excitedly counting down the days until your online orders arrive. These signs will also help you contact the merchant if there is a problem with your order, or you can share the tracking number and order information with someone else if you are not available to receive the package.