Apple Wallet can surface a pass on the iPhone lock screen when the holder arrives somewhere. If you add locations to a template, someone who reaches one of them sees your pass and a short message without opening anything.
It's the closest thing to a physical greeting the phone offers, and it's badly under-used.
This is an Apple Wallet feature only. Android users holding the same pass get everything else about it, but they will not see a lock-screen message on arrival. Plan any campaign around that - don't rely on it as your only way of reaching people at a venue.
Setting locations up
Locations are configured per template, under Features in the builder.
- Open your template and go to Features.
- Under locations, add a location.
- Name it - this is for you, so you can tell your sites apart in the builder.
- Place it on the map, or type in a latitude and longitude.
- Write the message the holder should see.
- Save the template.
You can add up to ten locations to a template.
Writing the message
You have a single short line, read at a glance by someone who has just arrived. The good ones are specific and immediately useful:
- "Welcome back - show this at the front desk."
- "Your table is booked for 7. Head to the bar to check in."
- "Members' entrance is on the left-hand side."
The weak ones are generic. "Welcome!" tells nobody anything they didn't know from being there.
Write it as though the person is standing outside the door with their phone in their hand and one thing they need to know next. That framing produces a much better line than thinking of it as marketing copy.
Picking the spot
Place the pin on the entrance people actually use, not the centre of the building or the postal address. Somebody arriving from the car park should trigger it as they approach the door.
For a large site with several entrances, add each entrance as its own location rather than one pin in the middle.
What the holder experiences
They arrive, and the pass appears on the lock screen with your message. They can tap it to open the pass - to show a barcode at the desk, for instance. If they don't, it fades away on its own.
It isn't a notification with a sound and it doesn't interrupt them. It's an offer of the right thing at the right moment.
Things worth knowing
- It isn't instant or guaranteed. iOS decides when to surface a pass, balancing battery and signal. Treat it as a helpful nudge rather than a trigger you can depend on.
- It only works for people holding the pass. It's a way to serve existing pass holders better, not to reach new people.
- Changes apply to existing passes. Adding locations to a template reaches passes already in wallets when they next update.
When to use it
It earns its place when arriving somewhere means the holder needs to do something - show a code, go to a particular desk, know where to queue. If arriving requires nothing, the message is noise.
If you want to reach people at a specific time rather than a specific place, a scheduled notification is the better tool. See Scheduling notifications.
Where to go next
- Pass templates: the basics.
- Sending a notification - for reaching holders regardless of where they are.