Guide
How to add a barcode to Apple Wallet, from any card
Apple Wallet does not take a loose barcode on its own; a barcode lives on a pass. The quickest way to get one there is a pass that carries your card's number, which is what TapIn signs in about a minute, for free.
The four codes Apple Wallet draws
Apple Wallet draws QR, PDF417, Aztec and Code 128. Most membership and loyalty cards carry something else: Code 39, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, ITF, Codabar or Code 93. TapIn re-encodes any of those as Code 128 carrying the same characters. A camera scanner reports the characters, not the style of the stripes, so the desk's system sees the same number it saw on the plastic. The one code that cannot go to Apple Wallet at all is Data Matrix; Google Wallet draws it.
The steps
- Scan. Open the builder, say what kind of place the card is from, and tap Scan the card. Hold the barcode inside the frame; it reads live, names the code type, and fills in the number. No camera? Use a photo. The picture is decoded on your phone and never uploaded.
- Design. Pick a design or keep it plain, drop in the place's logo so the pass takes its colors, and add your name if you like.
- Add. Tap Add to Apple Wallet. The pass is signed and lands in Wallet; a double press of the side button brings Wallet up from the lock screen.
- Test it once wherever the card is scanned, while you still have the card.
The number under the code
When the number is 32 characters or fewer, the pass prints it under the code, so a desk whose scanner will not read a screen can type it. The number is also on the back of the pass, under Member number. A QR code carrying a web address gets no caption, since nobody is going to type that.
When the scanner does not read the phone
Camera scanners read a screen; older laser wands often do not, because a screen does not reflect a laser the way paper does. Turn the brightness up and hold the phone flat and still. If it still will not read, ask the desk to type the number from under the code. Keep the physical card the first time you try.
A card with no barcode
Type the number instead. The pass carries it as a Code 128, and the number is printed under the code and on the back. Whether the place's system accepts a scan of a number it only ever typed is the place's call; a pass still puts the number one swipe away.