Wallet iOS 27 app gets 7 new features

Apple is making more of an effort to turn the iPhone into a physical wallet replacement in iOS 27, and there are several upgrades coming to the Wallet app.

Skip upgrades

Apple upgraded airline boarding passes in the Wallet app with iOS 26, and in ‌iOS 27‌ there are upgrades to additional card types. Memberships, gift cards, loyalty cards, and rewards cards can use a bolder “Generic Poster” card style with full background images, main logo, header fields, footer field, main fields, and optional barcode.

Each pass can include up to two actions that can be leveraged from the bottom of the pass, such as getting directions to a location or checking a rewards point balance.

Apple also lets users verify the pass issuer’s certificate to ensure a digital pass is legitimate (does not apply to Create a Pass), and four new barcode types are supported, including EAN-13, Code 39, Codabar, and ITF.

There is a new Mac Pass Designer app for developers that makes it easy to create a pass using a WYSIWYG editor.

Create a pass

There is a “Create Pass” feature in the Wallet app to add tickets, memberships, and more using Visual Intelligence. If you have a ticket for an event and there isn’t yet a digital version available for the Wallet app, you can create one using the physical pass.

You can scan a pass and add it with Visual Intelligence if there is a barcode or QR code, or a pass can be added manually. Pass models include Standard, Membership, and Event.

Each type includes relevant information such as name, location or admission type, as well as a scannable code taken from an included barcode or QR code that you take a photo of. You can choose from 12 background colors with different texture options, or seven custom backgrounds for categories like theater, music, sports, and movies.

Fields can be added or removed as needed when creating a personalized pass, with options such as label, date, membership, contact, promo code, VIN, insurance, etc., so most physical cards can be stored digitally.

Hotel keys

When you add a digital hotel key from a participating hotel to the Wallet app, you can now view more details about the trip. Hotels can provide updates on booked activities and allow access to different services.

AI Bill Splitting

Using the new Siri Mode in the Camera app or a feature in the Messages and Wallet apps, you can take a photo of a bill and use Apple Intelligence to determine what each person owes. ‌Visual Intelligence‌ scans the receipt and creates a digital copy of everything on the list, and each person can select what they consumed. Tax and tip portions are also calculated automatically.

Payments can be made with Apple Cash, a US-only feature.

Knowledge

‌iOS 27‌ includes an “Insights” feature where you can add financial accounts to the Wallet app to monitor spending.

Insights is an expansion of the Connected Accounts feature in earlier versions of iOS and includes expenses, recurring transactions, account balances, and more. It works for financial institutions that have implemented support for connected cards, including several UK banks.

Order tracking

Order tracking in the Wallet app is expanding to Australia and Canada in ‌iOS 27‌. In ‌iOS 26‌ it was limited to the US and UK.

Tap to share

Tap to Share is an ‌iOS 27‌ feature that allows customers to connect to a participating merchant’s iPhone for faster digital payment.

Device Requirements

‌Visual Intelligence‌ is an ‌Apple Intelligence‌ feature requiring an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Most other features should work on all iPhones.