Three Universities in U.S. Launch Contactless Student ID Cards on iPhone and Apple Watch

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Following a preview at WWDC 2018, Apple today announced that students at three universities in the United States can now add their student ID cards to Apple Wallet to get around campus using just an iPhone or Apple Watch.

apple wallet contactless student id
Namely, starting today, students at Duke University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Oklahoma can now add their ID card to the Wallet app on iOS 12 and watchOS 5 and use it to pay quickly and easily for laundry, coffee or lunch, and even get into their dorms, the gym, or the school library.

student id apple wallet
Apple says Johns Hopkins University, Santa Clara University, and Temple University will roll out the capability by the end of this school year.

Students simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the reader anywhere physical student ID cards are accepted — on and off campus. An optional Express Mode bypasses the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode, allowing for the quickest entry possible to buildings around campus.

Top Rated Comments

Bbafett Avatar
Bbafett
33 months ago
Nice idea though I wouldn't use it.

Fumbling with a $750-1500 device repeatedly to get into buildings or buy things is nowhere as convenient as slaping a plastic card against a reader. You use this a lot more than Apple pay (which also is annoying since they required that double press a button to activate).
You have to remember that in most cases the current student generation is on their phone at all times so it is already in their hand or readily available.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigboyz12000 Avatar
bigboyz12000
33 months ago
Natural progression at this point. Waiting for my job to enable this feature and replace the keycard i currently use to access the building :]
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
4jasontv
33 months ago
My university already has these readers installed on every door. My iPhone and Apple watch make it beep... so why exactly is this roll out so slow? I feel like this is nothing more than adding a student ID to ApplePay.

The article would be a lot more useful (for me) if it provided details on what a campus IT team needed to activate this. You know, so I could bug them about it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
Baymowe335
33 months ago
Nice idea though I wouldn't use it.

Fumbling with a $750-1500 device repeatedly to get into buildings or buy things is nowhere as convenient as slaping a plastic card against a reader. You use this a lot more than Apple pay (which also is annoying since they required that double press a button to activate).
Hmm, I think it's far more likely some would fumble around for a plastic card that has 1 purpose than a phone they probably already have in their hand or a watch that's on their wrist.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G5isAlive Avatar
G5isAlive
33 months ago
Nice idea though I wouldn't use it.

Fumbling with a $750-1500 device repeatedly to get into buildings or buy things is nowhere as convenient as slaping a plastic card against a reader. You use this a lot more than Apple pay (which also is annoying since they required that double press a button to activate).
And don't forget it works with Apple Watch.. which presumably is on their wrist, whats more convenient than waving your hand over a reader? No slapping. No fumbling for a plastic card. Just wave your hand, which in most cases is right there. Seems convenient to me.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moovyphreak Avatar
moovyphreak
33 months ago
I find it incredibly amusing that Tim Cook is an Auburn alumn, but Alabama is one of the first schools to roll this out. You think he’d have pushed his alma mater to support it at launch.
Yes, but Cook earned his MBA at Duke, so...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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