Students at the University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College will be the first in Canada to be able to store their digital student ID on their iPhone or Apple Watch and use it to gain access to buildings and make purchases this coming academic year, Apple has announced.

Apple is also expanding its NFC-enabled student ID service in the US for the 2021-22 school year, adding Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, New Mexico State University “and many more colleges across the country”, the company says.

“Many universities are increasingly moving away from plastic cards and taking a mobile-first approach to their student ID programs, allowing students to use mobile student IDs in Wallet to complete any action that would have previously required a plastic ID card — both on and off campus,” Apple explains.

“In April 2021, for the first time since launching mobile student IDs in Wallet, students used their mobile IDs to make purchases and access campus buildings more than they used plastic ID cards.

“This fall, the University of Alabama will be the first school to exclusively issue mobile student IDs to their 38,000 students with eligible devices.”

Apple’s NFC student ID service for iPhone and Apple Watch was originally unveiled in June 2018 and went live at three US universities in September 2018.

The service expanded to a further 12 US universities in August 2019, with Santa Clara University and South Dakota State University adopting it in February 2020. Other US institutions signing up to the service include Maryville University in October 2020 and Long Island University in April 2021.

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