NORMAN, Okla. – Campus access is more convenient and secure than ever for students at the University of Oklahoma with the addition of Sooner Cards to Apple Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch.

“Using your meal plan, doing laundry, going to the gym, getting into your residence hall – all of these things required students to have their plastic Sooner Card with them,” said Tyler Webb, Sooner Card director. “Now all they need is their iPhone or Apple Watch, and our campus card readers will automatically detect their Sooner Card when they hold their phone up to it.”

Setting up the Sooner Card on iPhone and Apple Watch is a simple process. Once your eligible iPhone 6 or later is running iOS 12 or your Apple Watch Series 1 or later is running watchOS 5, all that is left to do is download the Blackboard eAccounts app. From there, simply add your Sooner Card to Wallet.

“Keeping the Sooner Card and user access secure was our most important goal,” said Webb. “Making sure cards and accounts can be suspended if a phone is lost or compromised in any way keeps students and information safe.” 

Once the Sooner Card has been added to iPhone or Apple Watch, it can be used anywhere the physical card is currently accepted. Balances for meal points, laundry and Sooner Sense appear in Wallet, and more detailed account information can be accessed directly through the eAccounts app.

Over the summer, the university had a handful of students testing out the mobile Sooner Card. While this allowed for feedback to perfect the final mobile card, it also provided an opportunity for students to see what a great addition this feature is to their campus experience.

“I use the Sooner Card in Wallet everywhere I go on campus,” said Kristina Lea, a junior at OU. “Traveling light is so easy because all I need is my iPhone to access the study lounges, get into work and grab something to eat with my meal plan. Being able to wave your phone and unlock a door feels like having a superpower. It’s really cool, and I can’t wait for everyone else to use it.”

The excitement for others on campus to experience the Sooner Card in Wallet does not end with Lea.

“Nearly the entire student body already has an iPhone,” said Chris Nguyen, an electrical engineering student at OU. “Adding the Sooner Card to Wallet just makes things easier on campus. It puts the convenience and security of our student ID into the same place where we do everything else – on our phone. For students, that’s very intriguing.”

The Sooner Card in Apple Wallet is available to any student currently enrolled at the OU Norman campus and to any faculty or staff member currently employed at the OU Norman campus.

For more information and full directions on how to set up Sooner Card in Wallet, visit ou.edu/soonercard.
 
For more information about student ID cards in Apple Wallet for iPhone and Apple Watch, visit https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/10/apple-adds-support-for-contactless-student-id-cards-in-wallet/.