Campus ID Overview

Campus IDs are closed-loop cards used to identify users and grant building access.

Users can add their Campus ID to their Android-powered phone to securely access university buildings.

They can also use their Campus ID with Google Wallet to pay for university products and services such as dining, laundry,vending machines, books, and more.

Campus IDs also give users fast access to information such as user details and important university phone numbers.

Service Providers

Campus IDs are supported by participating universities in the US and Canada through the following Service Providers:

These Service Providers integrate with Google to provision and manage Campus IDs the user's Google Wallet. If you're a developer at a university and would like to learn more, check with your Service Provider on their ability to add Campus IDs to Google Wallet.

User prerequisites

For a user to use Campus IDs with Google Wallet, they need the following:

  • The latest version of their Service Provider's app from Google Play
    • For a possibly more streamlined user experience, consider creating a Play Instant App. All functionality in this guide for creating Campus IDs from Android apps is compatible with Play Instant Apps. For more information about Instant Apps, see the Overview of Google Play Instant.
  • A phone that runs Android 9.0 or higher, with NFC turned on
  • The latest version of the Google Wallet app (recommended)

For more user support information, see the support article Save your Student ID to Google Wallet.

University prerequisites

For a university to support Campus IDs with Google Wallet, they need the following:

  • NFC-enabled readers capable of receiving a user account credential from Google Wallet through the Service Provider's supported protocol.

Brand guidelines

The brand guidelines contain information on "Add to Google Wallet" button guidelines and Campus ID asset requirements. A field mapping template is also available to show how data maps to each field on a Campus ID.

Card provisioning and user experience

The Service Provider app links the user account to a Google Account through the Add to Google Wallet flow. For details on the steps of this integration, see Provision a new card.

Terminology

The following table describes terms used in this documentation and their meaning.

Component Diagram Object Definitions
Access Reader NFC-enabled university readers.
Account Typically managed by universities that use a Service Provider's management system.
Account Hub Account Hubs have access to the information necessary to manage the lifecycle of access cards and the required auth keys to authenticate with access readers. The Account Hub also performs security and risk activities in order to improve overall security of the system.
Google Play Services The Google Play Services application and its device services, which enable all Campus ID functionality. This component also encompasses the Google Wallet app. For more information, see the Google Wallet structure page.
Google Servers Google backend servers that implement several closed-loop APIs supporting Campus ID.
Service Provider Technology providers of university management systems.
University app An Android application created by a University (or Service Provider) for user to manage their account(s).

Also referred to as Service Provider app.
Card Issuers The University that issues the cards.