Apple Wallet has been a fantastic tool for storing virtual copies of all the credit cards, tickets and passes you'd normally have to keep in a physical wallet. But sadly, it's only been useful so long as there's official support for the pass or ticket.
Thankfully, the recent release of iOS 27 has fixed that flaw, and brought Apple Wallet back up to parity with Google Wallet. You see, Android devices have been able to create their own custom passes for the past two years, which can be incredibly useful in a lot of situations.
I know the pain of heading to Costco, only to realize that I left my wallet (with my membership card) on the counter. Had I been able to load a backup into Apple Wallet, I wouldn't have had to abandon my quest to stock up on cheap batteries and replace my worn-out jeans.
The same goes for forgetting my loyalty card at the movie theater, and having to cling to my receipt to ensure I can claim my 10% cash back. It's a surprisingly good deal, and if I'm going to get ripped off by going to the movies then I'm going to scrape back as much as I can whenever I can.
Now, thanks to iOS 27, it doesn't matter whether I leave the house with my wallet or not. I can simply open up Apple Wallet and access virtual copies of everything I've left behind.
How to make custom passes in Apple Wallet
1. Open Apple Wallet
First up, you'll actually need to open Apple Wallet. The easiest way is to double tap the power button, though you can access it through the App Library and iOS 27's Search feature.
2. Press the + button then Create a Pass
Next up tap the large + button on the top right, and on the resulting pop-up select the Create a Pass option
3. Choose how to add your Pass
Use Visual Intelligence to read the physical pass details or enter them manually.
4a. Scan your physical pass
If you choose Visual Intelligence you can either scan your pass with the camera, or pick an existing photo from your gallery. Whichever option you pick, Apple's Ai will scan all the details it can see and produce a custom pass. Tap Add to confirm you want this pass to be added to your wallet, and Edit Pass if you need to tweak the details.
4b. Enter your details manually
If you're going to do everything manually, you'll first need to select a template for your new custom pass — with options for membership, event and custom.. Once that's done you literally fill out a form with all the appropriate details, and scan any QR and bar codes by tapping the Add Code option at the bottom of the screen. This uses your camera as well, just like creating a pass with Visual Intelligence.
That's all there is to it. Once your custom pass is created, you can summon it from your wallet whenever you like. It will sit in your collection of cards, and is available at the tap of your screen. Whether that's a gym membership card, a parking pass, or something else entirely.
You can probably even add entry keys that rely on QR or barcode scanners, but like virtual passports or using other digital IDs with the TSA, this should be something that you have in addition to your physical pass. Because there's a good chance that a custom virtual option is not going to be considered valid if you end up in a situation that requires proper identification.
Still, that's not an Apple problem, it's a society and legal one. Until that gets sorted out at various levels of power, this is probably the best we can hope for in terms of emptying your wallet into your phone for the time being.
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