Mobile BuckID now available for Columbus campus

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Mobile BuckID now available for Columbus campus

New option gives students, faculty and staff option to ditch physical card

The BuckID - the physical card used by Buckeyes for everything from access to buildings to paying for food - is now available for free on mobile devices for most Columbus campus students, faculty and staff.

While the card is easy to use, with just a tap, it requires users to always carry it, and it can be lost or stolen.

Now, Buckeyes on the Columbus campus can instead use a mobile BuckID that's part of what they always have on them - a compatible smartphone or smartwatch.

"A BuckID provides access to all kinds of important things at Ohio State, and adding a mobile option makes it even easier for students, faculty and staff to use," said Josh Bodnar, director of BuckID. "People who have already switched to mobile really enjoy how easy it is to use."

Mobile BuckID is free and available for the Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet. Users can simply tap their iPhone, Apple Watch, eligible Android phone or Samsung watch at readers, just like a physical card. If they have an iPhone or Samsung phone, it will still work for several hours after the battery dies.

Switching to the mobile BuckID is optional, and when a user begins using the mobile BuckID it will deactivate their existing BuckID card. If someone does not have a compatible device, or prefers to have a physical card instead, they will still be able to keep their current physical BuckID.

Students, faculty and staff who are eligible to switch to mobile BuckID received an email from the BuckID office on Aug. 25. Some people, including in the Wexner Medical Center and some health science colleges, are not currently eligible to switch.

Mobile BuckID is initially open to the Columbus campus, with plans for a rollout in regional campuses in 2027. Students that are in online programs and remote-work employees can access a basic digital BuckID in the Ohio State App without needing to add the full mobile BuckID to their mobile wallet. All Columbus campus BuckID readers include mobile-credential capabilities in addition to the tap-enabled cards; if anyone on the Columbus campus still has a swipe-only BuckID, they will not be able to enter buildings or print until they switch to mobile or the tap-enabled cards.

Ohio State is one of the first colleges or universities in North America to integrate mobile functioning for student IDs into an existing app - here, the Ohio State app - instead of requiring an additional app for Apple users to download. To find out more about the mobile BuckID and how to easily switch to mobile, please see the BuckID website and answers to frequently asked questions.

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