PIING
Reading Wallet passes and cardsApple Wallet passes
Wallet passes and cards
- Apple Wallet passes
- Google Wallet passes
- Physical NFC cards
- Issue and manage passes
- Where to place Piing blocks in Shopify
- Wallet messages and optional web push
- Send a test push
- Claim links and QR codes
In this guide
- Piing issues the pass
- How a customer adds one
- What the pass shows
- How it identifies the customer
- Tap and scan
- Keeping the pass up to date
- On the lock screen near a store
- Current iOS features
- Next steps
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Wallet passes and cards 1 / 8
Apple Wallet passes
How Apple Wallet passes work in Piing, what the card can show, and how QR, NFC, live values, and Wallet messages fit together.
An Apple Wallet pass is a live membership card on the customer's iPhone. They add it once, use its QR code or approved NFC tap to identify themselves in store, and keep current values on a card they already carry. Unlimited Wallet passes are included in Piing’s $199 USD monthly base, including for brands with no physical stores. There is no pass-count tier or per-pass fee.
Piing issues the pass
Piing issues and signs Apple passes with its own credentials by default. There is nothing for you to upload or renew, and Issuing & NFC reads Piing-managed. A brand that needs to issue from its own Apple account can supply its Pass Type ID, Team ID, organisation name, and signing certificate in the advanced section.
Apple NFC is separate. Apple grants the VAS tap entitlement to the brand, so phone-to-reader NFC needs the brand's NFC-entitled Pass Type ID and certificate even when Piing signs the ordinary pass.
How a customer adds one
A customer can add the pass from your storefront, checkout thank-you page, order status page, customer account, kiosk join route, email or SMS, or a printed QR. Piing verifies their Shopify account before handing over a customer-specific pass. Signed-out customers sign in through Shopify; entering somebody's email address is not enough to claim their pass. The verified customer then chooses Add to Apple Wallet. There is no Piing customer app to download. See Claim links and QR codes.
What the pass shows
Wallet Studio controls the pass brand, artwork, colours, field positions, QR or NFC method, back-of-pass links, locations, and per-tier designs. Current field choices include:
- Name, member ID, member since and last visit.
- Loyalty tier, points, store credit and membership status, when the required source is available.
- Last check-in, total visits, and visits in the last 30 days.
The balance can be sourced from a supported loyalty app, Shopify store credit, or Piing visit count, or omitted for a simple membership card. Saving a design refreshes matching installed Apple passes, so existing holders are not left on the old artwork or layout.
Keep the banner artwork free of text. Put your logo in the logo slot and names, balances and membership details in the pass fields, rather than baking them into the image.
Fields without a connected issuing data source, including referral code, rewards available, next tier and store name/code, are unavailable for new selections. Existing saved choices are preserved, but an example value is not proof of live data. Store credit also needs the required Shopify permission.
Use Check with sample data in the preview to try long names, a new member with zero balance and large balances. The check does not change your saved design or customer records. Check Front, Back and Lock screen, then inspect a real installed pass.
Your logo ships at the sizes Apple expects, so it renders crisp rather than stretched on every screen, whichever route the customer installed from. Apple also has a separate square icon slot, used in notifications, in Mail, and on the lock screen. Piing fills that with the square logo you upload in Wallet Studio, so a wide wordmark is never squeezed into a square.
How it identifies the customer
The QR or NFC value carries a customer-linked Piing identifier. Piing resolves it to the linked Shopify customer and creates the check-in. The pass can also display the customer and programme values you chose above, so treat the card as customer data and configure only fields that are useful on a lock screen.
Tap and scan
Choose one check-in method for each Piing pass design. QR is the default; an NFC design does not also carry a QR code:
- QR scan. The pass carries a customer-specific code for a kiosk camera or compatible scanner at the till. This works without an Apple entitlement.
- Apple VAS NFC. The customer taps their iPhone on a compatible reader. This only works after Apple grants the brand's VAS entitlement and the matching certificate and Pass Type ID are configured in Piing.
The path to the Apple entitlement, and what to do in the meantime, is covered in While you wait for Apple's tap entitlement.
Keeping the pass up to date
Once installed, the pass can refresh when the connected source changes or when a check-in updates visit data. Piing sends a background update signal, and the device requests a newly signed pass. Delivery is not instant or guaranteed: connectivity and the customer’s Wallet settings apply. A changed pass field with a change message can make an update visible on the lock screen. Apple’s pass update service. The distinction matters because a silent data refresh does not spend the customer's message allowance. See Wallet messages and optional web push.
On the lock screen near a store
An Apple pass can carry up to ten relevant store locations. Turn on optional nearby suggestions and choose your customer-facing stores in Notifications → Settings → Nearby Wallet suggestions. The option is off until you enable it and select stores. Maintain each address in Shopify → Settings → Locations and leave warehouses and private addresses unselected. The starting maximum distance is 150 metres; Apple may use a smaller distance. Piing does not receive a stream of the customer's location.
To remove nearby locations, turn the option off and complete Save and update passes. Keep the page open until update requests have been submitted. Apple devices then fetch the change when they are online and automatic updates are allowed. Customers can already turn off Suggest on Lock Screen in their pass settings, where available, without removing the pass. Apple controls the display and when an existing suggestion disappears. See nearby Wallet controls and update behaviour.
Current iOS features
Piing uses a retail membership pass. New Apple features for boarding passes, event tickets and poster-style passes do not automatically apply to a store card. We keep the retail layout focused on membership, balance and recognition rather than promising travel or event features. Validate the installed pass on the iOS versions your customers use. Apple Wallet pass types.
Next steps
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Google Wallet passes
How Google Wallet passes work in Piing on Android, what the card can show, and how QR check-in and Wallet messages work.
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