Melbourne’s 101 Collins Street has become a flagship example of how mobile wallet credentials are shifting from pilot projects to production-scale building access. Thousands of tenants and visitors now tap into one of Australia’s most recognised commercial towers using nothing more than their smartphone or smartwatch.
The deployment, delivered by Melbourne-based digital consultancy Kodaa using HID Mobile Access technology, has been live for close to a year. It spans more than 35 tenancies across the tower, covering entry points, elevators, smart lockers and end-of-trip facilities. The result is a building where physical access cards are no longer the default.
How It Works
HID’s mobile credentials are provisioned directly into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. Tenants and visitors tap their phone or smartwatch against NFC-enabled readers at doors, turnstiles and elevator panels to gain entry. There is no need to open a dedicated app or even unlock the device. The credential sits in the wallet layer of the operating system, protected by the user’s own biometric settings such as Face ID or fingerprint authentication.
Behind the scenes, HID’s cloud-based access control platform handles credential issuance, updates and revocations in real time. Building managers can grant or remove access through a central portal rather than processing physical card requests manually. According to both companies, this has cut access management turnaround from days to minutes.
NFC at the Core
The system relies on NFC (Near Field Communication) for the tap-to-access interaction. HID’s mobile credentials use AES encryption and store cryptographic keys within the phone’s secure element, the same hardware-isolated chip used to protect contactless payment cards. This means each tap is authenticated locally on the device before being validated by the reader, providing a security model that matches or exceeds traditional card-based access.
Overlay, Not Rip-and-Replace
One of the more practical aspects of the 101 Collins deployment is that mobile credentials were layered on top of the existing access control infrastructure. The building did not need to strip out its legacy system to adopt mobile wallet access. HID readers that support both physical cards and NFC wallet credentials were integrated into the current environment, allowing tenants to transition at their own pace.
What This Means for Commercial Buildings
The sustained uptake at 101 Collins Street, well beyond the initial launch window, suggests that occupants in large commercial towers are comfortable relying on their phone for everyday building access. For property managers and building owners, the appeal is clear: reduced card printing and distribution costs, faster onboarding for new tenants, tighter control over who can access what, and a measurable improvement in the tenant experience.
The HID and Kodaa partnership at 101 Collins Street is one of the largest wallet-based building access deployments in Australia, and it points toward a broader shift in how commercial real estate handles physical security. As NFC wallet credentials become standard in phones and wearables worldwide, the traditional plastic access card is looking increasingly outdated.