Day-one issuance
A new starter can hold a working ID before any plastic exists, which matters most in the first week of the year.
Digital ID
The same credential, in their wallet
A digital ID is not a photograph of a card. It is the same credential in another form — one serial number, one verification code, issued and revoked alongside the plastic — added to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet in a couple of taps.
One credential, two forms
When somebody is issued a digital ID, it carries the same serial number and the same verification code as their printed card. Scanning either one gives the same answer, because there is only one credential underneath.
- Apple Wallet and Google Wallet from a single issuance.
- Digital-only or alongside plastic — issue both, or skip the card entirely.
- Emailed delivery, so a cardholder with no portal login can still add their ID.
- Designed separately from the printed card, because a phone screen is not a piece of PVC.
Still true tomorrow
The advantage of a digital credential is not convenience, it is control. A printed card cannot be recalled once it is in a pocket. A pass can be updated or struck through remotely, within seconds.
- Over-the-air updates when a name, photograph or expiry changes.
- Remote revocation — the pass is marked cancelled on the device.
- Revoke independently, so a digital ID can be withdrawn while the printed card keeps working.
- Audit trail of who issued or revoked, and when.
Examples
What lands on the phone
Not a picture of a card. A native pass on each platform, built from the fields each one defines, carrying the same serial number and verification code as the printed card.
NINorthvale Institute
TypeStudent
NameAroha Ngata
ID number20260417
DepartmentEngineering
CampusCity
Expires30 Nov 2027
NV-000417
NINorthvale Institute
Student ID
Aroha Ngata
ID number20260417
DepartmentEngineering
CampusCity
Verification code7K4M-2QX9
NV-000417
Illustrative designs. The institution and cardholder shown are fictional, and the QR codes are decorative rather than scannable. Your own pass layout, labels and colours are set in the designer.
Why institutions ask for it
The card people never forget
Students forget their card. They do not forget their phone. A digital ID cuts replacement volume, shortens the queue at the card office in week one, and gives a new enrolment something usable on day one — before their printed card has been produced.
Fewer replacements
A forgotten card is a replacement request. A phone in a pocket is not.
Immediate withdrawal
When somebody leaves, access ends when you say so, not when they hand something back.
Common questions
Frequently asked
Does this work on both iPhone and Android?
Yes. The same issuance produces an Apple Wallet pass and a Google Wallet pass, so cardholders use whichever phone they carry.
Does the digital ID replace the printed card?
Only if you want it to. Most institutions issue both, because doors, libraries and printers often still read a physical card. The platform supports digital-only, plastic-only, or both on the same credential.
What happens when a student leaves?
Revoke the digital ID and the pass is struck through on their device. You can revoke the digital form on its own, leaving the printed card working, or revoke the whole credential at once.
How does someone verify a digital ID?
The pass carries the same QR code as the printed card, resolving to a public verification page that states whether the credential is valid and, if not, why.
Do cardholders need an account to add their ID?
No. The link is emailed to them and opens directly, so somebody who has never signed in to the portal can still add their ID to their wallet.
See it against your own process
Tell us how you issue cards today and we will show you what this looks like for your institution. No obligation, and no sales script.