Guests buy timed tickets on their phones, then stand at your gate scrolling through email for a PDF. Many of them would rather tap a pass in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, the way they do for flights and concerts. So the question comes up: can Altru e-tickets go into a mobile wallet?
The honest answer is that it depends on what your Altru setup offers today, and if it doesn’t, getting there is a real project rather than a setting. This guide covers how to check, what a wallet pass actually requires, and the practical options in between.
Start by confirming what Altru does natively
Altru’s standard e-ticket is delivered by email, usually with a barcode that your scanners read at entry. We aren’t aware of a built-in “Add to Apple Wallet” or “Add to Google Wallet” option for Altru e-tickets, but Blackbaud updates the product, and we’d rather you confirm than take our word for it. Two quick ways:
- Ask Blackbaud support directly whether wallet passes are supported for e-tickets and, if so, which ticket types and delivery methods they apply to.
- Buy a test ticket through your own online sales flow and open the confirmation on an iPhone and an Android phone. If there’s no wallet button in the email or on the confirmation page, there’s no wallet pass.
What a wallet pass needs behind the scenes
It helps to know why this isn’t as simple as attaching a different file. A wallet pass is not a picture of a ticket. It is a small signed data package issued by your organization:
- Apple Wallet passes are signed with a certificate tied to an Apple Developer account and a pass type identifier you register. Unsigned passes won’t install.
- Google Wallet passes are created through Google’s Wallet API under an issuer account you set up with Google.
- Both need a barcode value that matches what your gate scanners expect. If the pass shows a different code than the Altru ticket, it’s just a pretty card that won’t scan.
- Both work best with a pass-update service, so a refunded or exchanged ticket can be updated or voided on the guest’s phone. Without one, a canceled ticket lives on in the wallet.
Something has to sit between Altru and the wallets: pull each order’s ticket data, generate and sign the pass, put the link in the guest’s confirmation, and handle changes. That is a custom integration, and it needs ongoing ownership (certificates expire, APIs change).
Options, from easiest to most involved
1. Make the existing e-ticket easier to find
Before building anything, fix the friction you have. Put the date, time slot, and number of tickets in the email subject line so guests can search for it. Keep the barcode near the top of the email, not below a long block of policy text. Add a line suggesting guests screenshot the barcode before they arrive, since cell signal at many gates is poor. This costs nothing and solves a good share of the line-at-the-door problem.
2. Let guests save it themselves
Some phones and third-party apps can turn a barcode or a photo into a basic wallet pass. Availability varies by device, region, and app, and you don’t control the result, so treat this as something guests may do, not something you promise. Test any approach against your own scanners before mentioning it on your website.
3. Build or buy a wallet pass integration
If wallet tickets are a priority, scope it properly. Questions to settle before talking to a developer or vendor:
- One pass per ticket or one per order? A family of five with one pass means one phone holds everyone’s entry.
- Which ticket types? Timed general admission is the easy case. Programs, events, and group sales may need different fields.
- How do refunds and exchanges reach the pass? Decide whether changes in Altru should void or update the pass, and how quickly.
- Do your scanners read a barcode from a phone screen reliably? Test at the actual gate, in daylight, with screen brightness at normal levels.
- Who owns it after launch? Someone has to renew certificates and watch for failures.
Membership cards are the easier win
Members visit repeatedly, so they feel the “find the email” problem more than one-time ticket buyers do. If you need to prioritize, a wallet membership card often gives more value per dollar than wallet e-tickets: one pass per member that stays on the phone for the whole term. Social Good’s Digital Membership Cards provide Apple Wallet and Google Wallet membership cards for Altru members. It’s built for membership cards rather than single-visit e-tickets, so for tickets the steps above still apply.
Quick answers
Can I just attach a PDF and tell guests to add it to their wallet?
No. Wallets don’t accept a PDF as a pass. Guests can save the PDF to their phone’s files or photos, which helps, but it isn’t a wallet pass.
Will a wallet pass work with our current Altru scanners?
Only if the pass carries the same barcode value and a format your scanners read. Confirm with a test ticket before launch.
