Apple Expanding Contactless Student ID Cards to 12 More Universities in Coming School Year - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Expanding Contactless Student ID Cards to 12 More Universities in Coming School Year

Apple today announced that students at 12 additional universities will be able to add their student IDs to the Wallet app in the coming school year, allowing them to get around campus and make purchases using an iPhone or Apple Watch.

contactless student id apple
The expansion includes Clemson University, Georgetown University, University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, University of San Francisco, University of Vermont, Arkansas State University, South Dakota State University, Norfolk State University, Louisburg College, University of North Alabama, and Chowan University.

Students simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a 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.

apple contactless student id dorm
Duke University, University of Oklahoma, University of Alabama, Temple University, Johns Hopkins University, Marshall University, and Mercer University rolled out contactless student IDs in the Wallet app last year.

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
HomePod mini and Apple TV Sage

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Remain 'Ready' to Launch

Sunday March 22, 2026 6:33 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled nine new products this month, but the wait continues for the next-generation Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini models. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini have been "ready" since last year, but he reiterated that Apple has held off on releasing them until the more personalized version of Siri and other...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....

Top Rated Comments

mattopotamus Avatar
86 months ago
Just give me a digital driver license and I probably wouldn't need a wallet.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
86 months ago
Would love if my company eschewed our access badges for NFC-equipped phones/watches.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calzon65 Avatar
86 months ago
Interesting possibilities … airline boarding passes (yea I know most airlines have electronic boarding passes), driver's license, proof of auto insurance, passport, your electronic entry certificate to Jeffery Epstein's private island, etc. ...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
86 months ago
So 19 universities in all.

There's goes my hope for contactless employee ID coming anytime soon.

I understand that employees want to see employee ID badge visible at all time. But I prefer to slap my phone or watch on the reader as opposed to pulling the ID from a lanyard.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
86 months ago
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.
Oh I see how it is. Apple can offer convenience features when dealing with large universities where adoption and relevance are on the line, and the experience has to match expectations.

But on my personal Mac I have to constantly enter my password for everything, and now in Catalina have to approve every damn thing every single app wants access to....despite the fact that I unlocked my personal Mac in my personal home using my Apple Watch.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
86 months ago
Interesting possibilities … airline boarding passes (yea I know most airlines already have electronic boarding passes), driver's license, proof of auto insurance, passport, ...
Don’t expect driver licenses or passports anytime soon. But Apple should work with private companies to get them to add their membership cards. Ex. Insurance, airlines, gas station rewards, etc
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)