HID and Sharry have partnered to launch the first digital wallet-based student IDs in European higher education, deploying the technology at H-FARM College near Venice, Italy. The implementation allows students, faculty and staff to tap their smartphones or smartwatches to access campus spaces, replacing the need for physical badges.
The deployment integrates Sharry’s smart access and workplace experience platform with HID’s trusted identity solutions. At the credential layer, HID provides secure digital ID issuance and management, while Sharry serves as middleware connecting H-FARM’s identity management system with HID’s infrastructure and the campus Genetec access control system.
Students and staff can add their credentials to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet with a single tap inside the H-FARM app. From there, NFC-enabled access works across the entire campus, from student rooms to common areas and printer stations, with no need to open additional apps.
The uptake at H-FARM was immediate. Alberto Aldrigo, CTO at H-FARM, said that within just three minutes of receiving the activation notification, 70% of users had already enabled their virtual badge. “From the very beginning, we envisioned a campus where credentials would always be within reach, directly on a smartphone. With HID and Sharry, this vision has become a reality through a solution that is simple, secure and reliable,” Aldrigo said.
H-FARM College sits on the edge of the Venice lagoon and operates as an innovation ecosystem where education, startups and technology coexist on a single integrated campus. The institution already offered a campus app for maps, food ordering, payments and event updates. Adding wallet-based student IDs was a natural extension of that digital-first approach.
Matej Pokorn, Head of Customer Success at Sharry, highlighted the speed of the rollout. “What might have taken months was accomplished in just a few weeks, a testament to the shared vision and agility of everyone involved,” he said. “H-FARM sets a new benchmark for how campuses can modernize access and identity without compromising security.”
Dominic Bruning, Director of Strategic Alliances for Mobile, EMEA, at HID, described the deployment as “a strong example of what a truly digital campus can be: secure, mobile and frictionless by design.”
The project builds on an existing partnership between HID and Sharry, which has previously delivered wallet-based office access projects in the United States, the European Union and Latin America. The H-FARM deployment represents a significant step toward fully digital campuses in Europe, where identity, access and services converge in a single mobile-first experience.
For European universities exploring contactless campus access, the H-FARM implementation offers a practical reference point, demonstrating that NFC wallet-based credentials can be deployed quickly and at scale within a higher education environment.