Why PassWallet?

Because computers are made to improve our lives on divers levels. On one side it helps us with our work, as well as the possibility to acquire knowledge on the other side computers can help us daily with our everyday simple tasks.
Apple Wallet is an excellent solution for a very simple and silly problem: there are too many loyalty card in my wallet, so my wallet is rather full of those cards that I use daily or only on occasions and sometimes because of the fact that my wallet is so full I don’t always find what I'm looking for or it can take hours to find the right one.
I had hope that with the release of iOS6 (the Wallet ancestor, PassBook was included into this release) that retailers would hear the plea of their customers for those of us who suffer severe back-ache from the sheer quantity of all our loyalty cards as well as answering to all those inner geeks out there for a bit of modernity. Only a few responded and even then not understanding the full potential of such a service.
At the best, they made their cards available into their apps, which is a partial response, as an app is not as easy to use (you need to launch it, wait, tap on the right menu to have it), sometimes you even have to login before using it, very practical when 10 people are standing behind you cursing you at the cash desk because you’re taking 10 minutes to pay.
Apple Wallet is a simple and elegant solution. For me it was obvious it needed to be used.
Other systems exist, they all have their pros and cons. Most of them only use few barcodes like QR Code or PDF 417, sometimes Aztec codes, which are the only ones natively implemented into Apple Wallet (Code 128 was added with iOS 9). And most of the time they do not take the brand's identity and it can often be complicated to increment the data in a fuzzy system.
PassWallet was born through a personal need to have all of my loyalty cards on my phone in Apple Wallet. I then extended the cards base to friends. Many things got improved at this moment, like GPS data, links with the iOS app, manual pass refresh...

What information do you keep when I create an Apple Wallet pass?

No personnel data is kept about you (name, card number, IP, etc.). Only a trace is kept for statistical use, so simply which and when a pass is generated. That's all!

I made a mistake while generating my pass and/or you mention an update for a pass. Do I need to recreate it?

You can recreate it on your mac or iPhone, and your existing pass will be updated. You can also open the pass, and access the information by tapping on the circled i that is at the bottom right of the pass. You will find there a refresh link containing everything needed to update your pass (the link is cyphered). You will be redirected to PassWallet, there you'll be able to update the information, then add it to Wallet, your pass is updated. Simple and easy.

My brand is in PassWallet, how can we work together?

First of all, the fact that you're in PassWallet is a sign that some of your clients have asked for it, and they want you to go digital.
If you already have an iOS app, you can contact PassWallet so we can talk about how to implement a pass in your app. This way you could provide more services like the balance of points of the card owner, for example.
If you do not have an app, you could also help by providing the GPS data of your stores and / or high-definition files of your brand graphic elements.

I don't like PassWallet, I hate you

That's ok, you don't have to use this service. If you wish to discuss legal matters regarding your brand or anything like that, use the contact address, so we can talk about it. This service was not made to create bad advertisement for your brand, it's here to help your customers, that's all.

It doesn't work...

If the scanner of the cash machine detected the barcode but couldn't connect it to your account, there's a problem with the barcode, please contact me via email at support@passwallet.app or via Twitter @PassWalletApp
As I'm not linked to the brands, I do not have all the versions of the loyalty cards used by them. Adding a new barcode type for a card is an easy fix, same for a mistake made when I created the card.

Hey, I'm Craig, I'm a chef developer for iOS and macOS, and with some friends we're looking for ideas to improve the next version of iOS. What would you suggest for Apple Wallet?

Hey Craig, here are some hints:

• iPad should be able to load a pass from Safari as it does in Safari for Mac. No application for Wallet on the iPad is fine (also a Weather app please?), but no Wallet pass support is a bit silly.
• Find a way to increase the 10 GPS coordinates limit per loyalty card, or find a way with a push system to increase that.
• Support for 1D barcodes, like: EAN13, Code 39, Code 11, UPC-A, Interleaved 2/5. You can add more if you wish...
• In the Wallet app, let us group loyalty cards together, in order to group event tickets, boarding passes, etc in distinct categories. At the moment it's a graphical mess, just look at how close loyalty cards and boarding passes are when they are minimized, everything looks the same.
• Enable the Wallet app to display on top, the list the passes that are geographically close, and not limit this fonction to the lock screen.
• With TouchID phones, only display the pass if you authenticate with TouchID, a bit like Apple Pay.
• Hurry to make Apple Pay available worldwide.
• Let Apple integrate natively a PassWallet like system with as many brands as you can, natively.
• Create a stamp system for loyalty cards with PassWallet, a bit like FidMe.

Say hi to Tim.

What are PassWallet limits?

PassWallet does not have a link with the brand you're creating a pass for. So PassWallet has no access to private information like your loyalty balance account and stuff like that.
Only a card created by the brand can provide this level of integration.
Push update technologies are not activated for passes created with PassWallet for privacy concerns.
Other limits are linked to Apple Wallet itself or the way the brand works.

• Apple Watch only support QR Code, Aztec and PDF 417.
• Geolocalisation is limited to 10 places per loyalty card.
• Some cash desk scanners can't read through a screen (old scanners, laser-based). This is a physical problem not linked to Apple Wallet or PassWallet. It will improve over time as cash desks get changed to a newer generations.

Apple added support for Code 128 barcodes with iOS 9. PassWallet can use the native generator for compatible passes. They do not represent the vast majority of cards present in PassWallet.

Is iCloud mandatory? How does it work?

You do not have to use iCloud if you create your pass on your iPhone. But if you want to create them from your mac with Safari, you need, for sync purposes, to have the same iCloud account on your mac and iPhone. Safari for Mac, when adding a pass, will save it via iCloud and the sync will occur with compatible devices.
Once this is done, open Wallet on your iPhone. Wait few seconds for the sync to be done. Your pass will appear on top of the list.

What's the fees to use PassWallet? May I help?

PassWallet is free, and created by a volunteer.
Donations are accepted via this link if you wish to help with the fees of the servers and things like that
You can contribute to PassWallet by finding GPS data for the stores and requesting new loyalty cards.
There is a cost to keeping PassWallet alive, but it's for the Apple community.

I want to add a card that is not listed

You can use the Submit link to request a new card.

Can you hack my loyalty card program?

Let's be very clear here. A barcode is not protected. Anyone can capture it and read it. The barcode is a way to save a number that will link your loyalty program account with the brands’ own system. This is where sensitive information is saved.
The worse than can happen is that someone would add points to your loyalty program. It is the brand responsibility to place a PIN number for example when you want to use the points or balance of your card.

Why do you display passes that are natively available?

You must be thinking about the passes marked with a in the list.
PassWallet does not wish to reference already existing passes but many people do not have knowledge of their existence.
So I decided put a link redirecting you to the official app.
Nota: Theses app are not counted in the number of passes displayed in the menu.

Do you work for the NSA?

No, and for privacy concerns, PassWallet does not keep data about your passes, except which pass are created and when for statistics purposes.
Still, put some black tape on your mic and FaceTime camera, you never know...

Who are you?

The developer behind PassWallet is Fabien Defaye, he lives in a city situated in the South West of France, where some planes are built, in a city known for its violets. He was a web & app developer back in time, and has kept a passion for useful computing.
He is also a musician in his spare time, especially for electronic music.
You can have a look (well, a listen) to what he does here SoundCloud and on the iTunes Store.