Members already carry their phones to the gate. Their plastic or printed membership card is in a drawer at home, or it went through the wash. A card that lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet fixes that, and it also gives your organization a small, permanent spot on the member’s phone that shows their level and expiration date every time they open it.
For organizations on Altru, the question isn’t really whether wallet cards are a good idea. It’s how to issue them so they stay accurate, scan cleanly at the door, and don’t create a second membership database that drifts away from Altru. This guide covers what to decide before you launch and what to test.
What a wallet membership card actually is
A wallet card is a digital pass the member adds to Apple Wallet (iPhone) or Google Wallet (Android). It usually shows the member’s name, membership level, expiration date, and a barcode or QR code. Staff scan that code at admission the same way they would scan a printed card.
Two things make it different from emailing a PDF of the card:
- It’s always on the phone. The member doesn’t need signal, email search, or a login at the gate. Wallet passes open from the lock screen.
- It can be updated after it’s issued. Wallet passes support updates, so a renewed membership can show the new expiration date on the same card instead of requiring a new download.
Altru’s membership tools are oriented around membership records and printed cards. If you’re unsure whether your Altru setup offers a native mobile wallet option, ask Blackbaud support before you plan around one. If it doesn’t, the usual route is an add-on that reads membership data from Altru and generates the passes.
Decisions to make before you launch
Which number goes in the barcode
This matters more than anything else. The barcode has to contain whatever value your admissions process already looks up, typically the membership card number or lookup ID your Altru card format uses. If your front desk scans printed cards today, put the same value in the wallet barcode so nothing changes at the register. Confirm this with a real scan before any member sees a card.
Who in the household gets a card
A family membership in Altru may have two named adults plus children or add-on cardholders. Decide whether each named member gets their own wallet card, or the primary member gets one card for the household. Separate cards are easier at the gate when couples visit separately. One card is simpler if your admission policy is “card holder plus family.”
How renewals and upgrades show up
The point of a digital card is that it reflects current Altru data. Ask any vendor exactly when a renewal, upgrade, or lapse appears on the member’s card, and whether the member has to do anything. A card that still shows last year’s expiration date trains staff to ignore what’s on the screen.
What happens with lapsed members
Decide whether an expired card should still display (useful as a renewal prompt) or clearly show that the membership has lapsed. Either way, your scan at the door should check status against Altru rather than trusting the date printed on the pass.
Whether you keep printed cards
Some members won’t use a wallet, and some won’t have a smartphone. A common approach is to keep printed cards available on request and stop mailing them by default once enough members are using the wallet version. That decision affects your fulfillment workflow in Altru, so settle it early.
Getting cards to members
A wallet card only helps if members add it. The common delivery points are:
- The join or renewal confirmation. Add an “Add to Apple Wallet” and “Add to Google Wallet” link to the acknowledgment email so new and renewing members get it at the moment they’re paying attention.
- A one-time send to current members. Use an Altru query of active memberships to email everyone a link. Expect bounces; it’s a good moment to clean up bad email addresses and duplicate records first.
- At the front desk. A sign with a QR code that leads members to their card catches the people who skipped the email.
Testing before you go live
- Issue cards to a few staff memberships at different levels, including a household membership.
- Scan each card on every device your admissions team uses, at normal screen brightness, indoors and outside.
- Renew or upgrade one of the test memberships in Altru and confirm the card changes as expected.
- Let one test membership lapse and see what the card and the scan show.
- Write a two-line desk script for “my card won’t scan” so staff know to look the member up by name.
How Social Good handles it
Our Digital Membership Cards issue Apple Wallet and Google Wallet membership cards for Altru members, using your Altru membership data. Membership records stay in Altru; the wallet card is how members carry them.
Quick answers
Do members need to download an app?
No. Apple Wallet and Google Wallet are built into most phones, so the member just taps a link to add the card.
Can we stop printing cards entirely?
You can, but keep a fallback for members without smartphones. A lookup by name at the desk covers most of those cases.
Will our existing scanners read wallet cards?
Many handheld scanners read barcodes from phone screens, but some older laser scanners struggle with them. Test your actual hardware before launch.
