How to Create Google Wallet Passes for Your Club

Roughly half your members carry Android phones, and every one of them can hold a membership card in Google Wallet — the app that already lives on their phone next to their bank cards. This guide shows how to create Google Wallet passes for your club without touching Google Cloud, JSON, or a line of code.

The two ways to do it

The developer route: register as a Google Wallet API issuer, define pass classes and objects in JSON, sign save-links with a Google Cloud service account, and host the update flow. It's free and powerful — and it's a software project, not a committee job.

The platform route: use a service that owns the issuer plumbing for you. Digital Cards Club generates Google Wallet passes (and their Apple Wallet twins) from one card design in a dashboard. The rest of this guide follows that route, because it's the one a club can actually run.

Step 1: Design the card once

Create a card template: upload your logo, set your brand colours, and choose the fields — member name, membership number, type, expiry date. The same design produces the Google Wallet pass and the Apple Wallet pass, so you're building for the whole club, not half of it. (If you've already read how to create Apple Wallet membership cards, this is the same template — nothing extra to do.)

Step 2: Add your members

Add members individually, or import your list from a CSV on the Pro plan. Each member needs a name and an email address; membership numbers, types and expiry dates enrich the card. The import de-duplicates as it runs, so a re-upload won't create doubles.

Step 3: Distribute

Click distribute. Each member gets an email with their personal card link. On an Android phone that page shows an Add to Google Wallet button; one tap saves the card. (iPhone members see "Add to Apple Wallet" on the same link — you don't manage two lists.) No app download, no account, no password.

Step 4: Scan and verify at the door

Every Google Wallet pass carries a QR code. Scan it at the gate, bar or shop to confirm the membership is current — the same scanning flow works for both wallets. For the detail, see our QR code membership cards guide.

Keeping Google Wallet passes up to date

This is the payoff over plastic: renew a membership, correct a name, or refresh your branding, and the pass already saved in members' Google Wallets updates in place. Lapsed memberships can be revoked so the pass stops verifying at the door.

Common questions

Do I need a Google Cloud account?

Not on the platform route — Digital Cards Club is the registered issuer and handles the signing. You'd only need your own Google Cloud issuer account if you were building passes into your own software.

What does it cost?

Google Wallet passes are included on every plan, including the free tier (5 cards). Pro (£15/month) covers 100 active cards with CSV import; Pro Plus (£49/month) is unlimited.

What if a member uses neither wallet app?

The card link also renders as a plain web page with the QR code, so any member can present their card from a browser. New to the concept? Start with what is a Google Wallet pass?

Ready to try it?

Create a free account, design a card, and send a Google Wallet pass to your own Android phone in about fifteen minutes.