Getting started with Google Wallet passes

Google Wallet passes are digital cards, such as loyalty cards, offers, gift cards, event tickets, boarding passes, and transit tickets, that users keep in the Google Wallet app.

With Pushwoosh, you design a pass in the Control Panel, send it to users, and update the pass anytime. Changes sync automatically to every saved device.

What you can do with Google Wallet passes

• Design passes in the pass builder
• Share the save link or QR code with users
• Update passes anytime. Google syncs changes to every saved device

Prerequisites

• A Google Pay & Wallet Console issuer account
• A Google Cloud project with a service account key

Start working with Google Wallet passes

After the prerequisites are in place, work through this flow:

1. Configure Google Wallet in Pushwoosh

   Ask your developer team to connect Google Wallet to your application in Pushwoosh.

   How to set up Google Wallet

2. Design the pass

   Open the pass builder in Campaigns → Wallet Passes, pick a pass type, add your branding and fields, and check the live preview.

   Design Google Wallet passes in the pass builder

3. Create the pass

   When the pass looks right, click Generate in the pass builder.

4. Send the pass to users

   Share the save link or a QR code from All passes. See Share the pass with users via Pushwoosh channels. To send a pass to each user at scale, your developer team can use the Google Wallet API.

5. Update the pass

   In All passes, click Edit on the pass, or update it through the Google Wallet API. When you save, Google delivers the update to every device that saved the pass. Users do not need to save it again.

6. Message pass holders

   Once users save the pass, you can reach them with a one-time push or an automated Customer Journey.

   Message Google Wallet pass holders

View and manage existing passes

In the Control Panel, go to Campaigns → Wallet Passes and open the Google Wallet tab. The All passes table lists every pass for the application, including the pass name, style, the User ID it is linked to, its state, and when it was last updated.

On the passes list, open the actions menu (⋮) to:

• Edit: change field values and labels, colors, logo and hero image URLs, barcode, links, locations, and expiration. The pass type stays locked after creation. When you save, every device that saved the pass receives the update.

Pass updates and notifications

When you save changes, the pass updates on every device that saved it. If Notify about changed fields is enabled (on by default), Google also sends an Android notification to holders.

Notifications are supported for loyalty, event ticket, and flight passes. Google generates the notification text automatically based on the changed fields. For event and flight passes, notifications only fire if fewer than 3 hours remain until the start time, and Google caps them at 3 per pass per 24 hours.

To send your own message to pass holders, see Message Google Wallet pass holders.

• Send message: open the One-Time Push composer to message pass holders. See Message Google Wallet pass holders for all the ways to reach them.
• QR code: show a QR code that encodes the pass save link. Users scan it to save the pass to Google Wallet and register their device for updates.
• Copy install link: copy the pass save link to share in your messaging channels. Learn more.
• Invalidate: set an active pass to inactive. The pass moves to the user’s Expired passes section in Google Wallet. The record stays in Pushwoosh.
• Activate: set an inactive pass back to active. This option appears in the actions menu only when the pass is inactive. Restores the pass in Google Wallet.
• Delete: invalidate the pass in Google and remove its record in Pushwoosh. Google does not allow force-removing a pass already saved on a device. It becomes invalid and moves to Expired passes.

Share the pass with users via Pushwoosh channels

The Add to Google Wallet link is a regular URL (https://pay.google.com/gp/v/save/...). Opening it on a device prompts the user to save the pass to Google Wallet. You can use this link in the same Pushwoosh channels you already use to reach your audience:

• Email: add the link to a button or text link in the email editor, for example, an “Add to Google Wallet” call to action.
• Push notifications: set the link as the notification’s open action so a tap opens the pass.
• SMS: include the link in SMS content.

Manage passes via API

Everything the pass builder does is also available programmatically through the Google Wallet API: create, update, list, get a save link, set state, and delete passes.

Google Wallet API

View pass holders in User Explorer

When a user saves your pass, it appears in User Explorer as a device on the Google Wallet platform. Open a user and check their devices to confirm they hold a pass and see the linked details:

• Platform: the device is listed as Google Wallet.
• HWID: the pass object id.
• Tags: the user and device tags, including any you set when issuing the pass.