To add a business card to Google Wallet, save a clear image of your digital card’s QR code, open the Google Wallet app on Android, tap Add to Wallet, then choose Photo (called Everything else in some versions) and pick that image. Name the pass, tap Add, and your QR code sits in Wallet ready to show. You don’t need a paid card service that issues Wallet passes.
Most guides on this topic come from card vendors and only cover their own “Add to Google Wallet” button. The photo method below works with any card that has a QR code.
What you need before you start
You need two things: an Android phone with the Google Wallet app, and a QR code that opens your digital business card.
- A link-based QR code. It should open your card’s web page rather than hold your details inside the pattern, so it keeps working when you change your number. Our guide on making a QR code for your business card explains the difference.
- A clean image of the code. Download it from your card app, or screenshot it with nothing else in the frame.
- Wallet on the right phone. Set it up on the one you carry to meetings.
How to add a business card to Google Wallet from a photo
You add a business card to Google Wallet by turning an image of its QR code into a pass. Google’s Wallet help page says “You can save passes to Google Wallet from an image,” and gives library cards, gym passes and parking passes as examples. A business card QR works the same way.
- Save or screenshot your card’s QR code. Google asks for “a clear and high-resolution photo.”
- Open the Google Wallet app.
- Tap Add to Wallet.
- Tap Photo, or Everything else if that is what your app shows.
- Pick the image. Google’s wording is “Select a clear and large photo of the barcode.”
- Enter a name and description, such as “Priya Shah, business card.”
- Tap Add.
To share it, open Wallet, tap the pass and turn the screen toward the other person so they can scan the code.
Photo or Everything else: why the menu differs
The menu name depends on your app version and region. In August 2024, 9to5Google reported that Everything else was “Replacing the old Photo option,” and that it was “US only” at the moment. The current Google help page still describes the Photo option.
With Everything else, Google uses AI to “determine what kind of pass you’re adding and to suggest the content of the pass.” 9to5Google lists Business card among the pass types you can choose, along with Library card, Loyalty card and Other. You can edit the suggested fields before saving. If you still see Photo and want the newer flow, 9to5Google suggested going to Settings, then App info for Google Play services, and tapping Force stop.
How people save your contact from the Wallet pass
People save your contact by scanning the QR code on the pass, not from Wallet itself. Google’s help page says to “select the pass and scan the barcode or QR code.”
At a trade show, you open the pass, a buyer points their camera at your screen, and their phone opens your card page. They tap Save Contact, and your details land in their contacts app. If their Android phone hesitates at the last step, saving a contact from a QR code on Android covers the fixes.
What a Google Wallet business card can’t do
A Google Wallet business card made from a photo is a shortcut to your QR code, nothing more.
- The pass text doesn’t update. The name and description stay as typed. Only the page behind the QR code shows new details, which is why a link-based code matters.
- It isn’t a contact card. Nobody can tap the pass to save you. They have to scan it.
- Removing it removes it everywhere. Google notes that “When you remove an item from your phone, it’s removed across devices.”
My take: the Wallet pass is a backup. Your lock-screen shortcut or a saved link opens faster, as covered in using your phone as a digital business card. Use the pass when you want the code next to your tickets and boarding passes.
How card vendors issue Google Wallet passes
Card vendors that offer an “Add to Google Wallet” button create passes through Google’s developer API, which needs an issuer account. Google’s Generic Pass overview says the generic type “is available for when your use case doesn’t fit into any of the other predefined pass types.” To issue passes, a company must first create a Google Wallet API Issuer account.
When Google launched the API, its developer blog said: “If it is a card and has some text, a barcode or a QR code, it can be saved as a generic card.” The result looks more polished than a photo pass, with your name laid out in fields, but it still relies on the QR code for anyone saving your contact.
How this works with QRCard
QRCard doesn’t issue Google Wallet passes, so you use the photo method above. Every QRCard plan, including Free, lets you download your card’s QR code, and that code points to your vanity link (qrcard.in/c/yourname).
Change your phone number in the dashboard and anyone scanning your Wallet pass sees the new one, with a Save Contact button that downloads a standard .vcf file for iOS or Android. Viewers don’t need an app. The honest limitation: you won’t get a vendor-style pass with your name in formatted fields, just your QR code and the label you type.
Apple Wallet works differently. See How Do I Add a Digital Business Card to Apple Wallet? for that route.
FAQ
Does Google Wallet have a business card feature?
Not a card builder. Google Wallet can turn a photo of a pass into a digital pass, and coverage of its Everything else option lists Business card as one of the pass types you can pick.
Why don’t I see Everything else in Google Wallet?
Depending on your region and app version, the option may still be called Photo. 9to5Google suggested force-stopping Google Play services in Settings if you still saw Photo after the rollout.
Can someone save my contact from my Google Wallet pass?
Only through the QR code. The pass shows the code, the other person scans it, and their phone opens your card page, where they tap Save Contact.
Will my Google Wallet business card update when I change my details?
The pass itself won’t, but if its QR code holds your card’s link, scanning it always opens your latest details. Only the name and description you typed into the pass stay as they were.
How do I remove a business card pass from Google Wallet?
Open the pass, scroll to the bottom and tap Remove pass. Google notes that removing an item from your phone removes it across devices.