How to Create a Campaign and Issue a SmartPass in the Sparados Platform: Step-by-Step Guide
Updated: 7 hours ago
Want your loyalty card, ticket or ID to land straight in your customers’ Apple Wallet and Google Wallet? In the Sparados platform you do it in two stages: first you create a campaign, which is your pass template, and then you issue passes to specific people. This guide walks you through the whole process – from an empty form to a pass on your customer’s phone.
Key Takeaways
A campaign is a pass template: design, texts, languages and fields shared by all passes.
No developers needed: you set everything up in the admin panel, and the Apple Wallet and Google Wallet preview updates live.
Fields filled per pass: holder data, such as name and surname, is entered when you issue a pass or in a CSV file.
Two ways to issue: one by one (email, link, QR code) or in bulk from a CSV file.
No app required: customers add the pass to their phone’s wallet with one tap.
Table of Contents:
What is a SmartPass campaign?
SmartPass is the Sparados platform for creating branded passes for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet: loyalty cards, tickets, vouchers, membership cards, policy cards and employee IDs. For insurance examples, read our article on digital wallets in insurance.
A campaign is a template: you set the barcode format, languages, design and fields. Every pass issued in a campaign inherits these settings and differs only in the data you mark as filled per pass – for example, the holder’s name and surname.
What do you need before you start?
Admin access to the Sparados platform.
Your company logo as a PNG or JPEG file (up to 10 MB).
An icon as a PNG or JPEG file – Apple Wallet requires it. Apple’s pass requirements are described in the Apple Wallet documentation.
Your brand colors in HEX format (e.g. 091E2F).
A list of the fields you want on the pass, split into shared and individual ones.
Step 1: How do you add a new SmartPass campaign?
Log in to the Sparados platform, select SmartPass in the side menu and click “Add campaign” on the Campaigns tab. A form opens with a pass preview on the right – the Apple Wallet and Google Wallet preview updates as you fill in the fields.
Basic data
Campaign name – an internal label. Pass holders never see it.
Barcode format – QR, PDF417, AZTEC or CODE128. This is the default format; each pass supplies its own barcode message.
Email template – an optional template for the email that delivers the pass. Leave it empty to use the default.
Languages
Choose the languages your card texts can be written in and the default language. The default language is required for all texts and is used when a translation is missing. The switcher above the texts section lets you move between language versions.
Step 2: How do you set up pass texts and design?
Card texts
Organization name – in Apple Wallet, the issuer name shown in notifications; in Google Wallet, the small title at the top of the card.
Card heading – Google Wallet only: a large heading under the title. If you leave it empty, the organization name is shown.
Colors and images
Background color – applies to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
Text color and label color – apply to Apple Wallet only.
Logo – PNG or JPEG up to 10 MB, scaled to 50 px height.
Icon (Apple) – required by Apple Wallet, cropped to a square.
Strip image – optional, cropped to 375×144 px.
Tip: on a dark background, use a white logo and pick a lighter shade of your brand color for labels. The text on the pass stays readable.
Step 3: How do you add fields to a pass?
Fields are the information shown on the pass. The platform groups them into zones that differ in position and text size:
Zone | Where it appears | Example |
Header | Small text in the top right corner, next to the logo | PASS: DEMO |
Primary | Large text – put the holder’s data here | Name and surname |
Secondary | Row below the primary fields | Virtual cards: in seconds |
Auxiliary | Extra row below the secondary fields | Website: sparados.com |
Back / details | Back of the pass (Apple) or details view (Google) | Company info, links, contact |
Shared field or filled per pass?
Same for everyone – you set the text in the campaign and all pass holders see it.
Filled per pass – each pass gets its own value under a key (Value key). The same key is the column name in the CSV file for bulk issuing.
Change notifications
For each field you can turn on notifications for holders when the value changes and enter a change message. The %@ placeholder is replaced with the new value, and the customer sees a lock-screen notification – for example about a new status or date.
Links on the back of the pass
In the Back / details zone you can add links in the <a href="https://...">text</a> format, as well as tel: and mailto: links. It is a good place for contact details, offers, FAQs or self-service.
Step 4: How do you save the campaign?
When the preview looks right, click “Save”. The campaign appears on the list with its layout, languages and pass counter (saved / active). You can change the settings later with the “Edit” button on the campaign page.
Step 5: How do you issue a pass to one person?
Open the campaign and click “Issue pass”. In the window, fill in:
Holder email – the address of the person who will receive the pass.
Pass values – the fields marked as filled per pass, e.g. name and surname.
Barcode message and text under the barcode (optional) – the data encoded in the barcode. Without a barcode message, the pass has no barcode.
Expiry date (optional) – leave it empty if the pass should not expire. After this date, the pass is voided automatically.
Send the pass by email – turn it on and choose the email language.
After you click “Issue pass”, you see QR codes for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet and buttons to copy the link. You can send the pass by email, show a QR code to scan with a phone, or share the link in any channel.
How do you issue many passes at once from a CSV file?
For larger groups, use the “Bulk issue (CSV)” button on the campaign page. Each row in the file is one pass.
Required columns: userEmail and the keys of the fields filled per pass (e.g. NAMESURNAME).
Optional columns: barcodeMessage, barcodeAltText and expiresAt (an ISO date in the future).
File: UTF-8 encoding, comma, semicolon or tab separated, up to 5 MB.
Template: download it with the “Download CSV template” button in the import window.
Important: if any row is invalid, no passes are issued. Fix the file and upload it again. You can also turn on email delivery when importing.
How does a customer add a pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet?
The customer receives an email with buttons to add the pass to Google Wallet and Apple Wallet. One tap is enough – no app download. The pass then stays in the phone’s wallet, also offline. To learn how adding to a wallet straight from a website or message works, read Web-to-Wallet: practical use cases.
Sparados uses the same app-free model for payment cards, which companies add to wallets through Web Push Provisioning.
Where can you check the status of issued passes?
The Passes tab in the SmartPass module lists issued passes: holder, status (e.g. Active), the wallets the pass was saved to, expiry date, and creation and update dates. The Batches tab shows CSV imports, and the counter on the campaign list shows how many passes were saved to wallets and how many are active.
How much does it cost to issue SmartPass passes?
SmartPass is billed by pass limit, and only sent passes count toward it. Creating templates, updating passes and sending push notifications do not use it. There is no platform fee and no API fee, and sent passes never expire. See the SmartPass pricing for details.
SmartPass FAQ
Does my customer need to download an app to add a pass?
No. Customers add the pass with one tap to the Apple Wallet or Google Wallet already on their phone.
Do I need a developer to create a campaign?
No. You create campaigns and issue passes in the admin panel. You can automate issuing and updates through the Sparados API, included at no extra cost.
Which barcode format should I choose?
QR, PDF417, AZTEC or CODE128 – pick the format your scanners support. You set the format in the campaign and the barcode message separately for each pass.
What is the difference between a “same for everyone” field and a “filled per pass” field?
The first has one value for the whole campaign. The second has its own value for each pass, entered when issuing or in a CSV column.
Can I issue many passes at once?
Yes, with a CSV import. One row is one pass, and the required columns are userEmail and the keys of the fields filled per pass.
Can a pass expire?
Only if you set an expiry date. Without a date, the pass does not expire; with a date, it is voided automatically once the date passes.
Issue your first SmartPass today
Already a Sparados client? Log in to the platform and create your first campaign. If you are new to SmartPass, talk to us – we will walk you through the process using your company as an example.
