Apple Wallet adds in iOS 27 a function that many users have been waiting for for years: the possibility of importing physical passes into the application. Paper or plastic loyalty cards, event tickets or membership cards can now be converted into digital passes stored on your iPhone or Apple Watch, without depending on third-party apps or the business having its own digital version.
And, as Apple explains, the system recognizes physical cards with a barcode and converts them into a saved pass with a single gesture, without filling out forms or searching for the digital version of the business in question. Let's see how the process works step by step and what really changes on a day-to-day basis if you use Wallet as your main wallet.
This is how cards are scanned with the iPhone camera
To import a physical card you just have to activate the siri mode in the app Camera and point to the barcode. The system detects it instantly and suggests saving it in Wallet right there, without additional steps or hidden menus that you have to search for.
The same mechanic works with digital passes that don't come to you via a link: if you take a screenshot of a QR or barcode, Wallet can still recognize it and offer to save it directly. And if you don't have any images on hand, you can create the pass manually from within the application itself, entering the data you need yourself. Once saved, the pass is ready to be displayed as a barcode or QR code from both the iPhone as from the sphere of Apple Watchso there is no need to take out your phone if you are wearing the watch at that moment.
Everything that Wallet already saved before this update
Before iOS 27Apple Wallet already worked as a partial substitute for the physical wallet. The app stores credit and debit cards, driving licenses, transportation cards, boarding passes and event tickets, as well as digital car, home and hotel keys. All of this allowed you to leave the leather wallet at home for a good part of your daily tasks.
What was missing was a space for everything that arrives in exclusively physical format: the loyalty card for the cafeteria on duty, the gym membership or the cardboard ticket for a concert that no digital system yet contemplates. With the new import function, that gap is closed, and Wallet begins to cover practically any object that previously only fit in the leather wallet that you left in the drawer at home. That was the piece that Wallet was missing to truly become your only wallet.
The problem it solves: businesses without a digital pass
Although digital passes are becoming more common, there are still stores, gyms and events that only offer physical cards. That combination forced you to continue carrying objects that Wallet could not replace until now, no matter how much you wanted to leave the wallet at home.
Apple Wallet iOS 27 FAQ Simply activate Siri mode in the Camera app and point to the barcode on the card; The system detects it and suggests saving it in Wallet. You can also create the pass manually from within the app itself.
Yes, once saved in Wallet, the pass can be presented as a barcode or QR from both the iPhone and the Apple Watch face.
The import of physical passes is part of iOS 27, so you need to have your iPhone updated to this version of the system.
How do you import a physical card into Apple Wallet in iOS 27?
Can I show an imported pass from Apple Watch?
What version of iOS do I need to use this feature?
