Mobile credential
What is a mobile credential?
A mobile credential lets a member’s phone act as their gym key — by app, QR code, or a stored PIN — instead of a physical fob or card. Nothing to issue, nothing to lose, and access is granted or revoked from your membership record rather than by handing something over.
How the options compare
| Issue cost | Lost-credential admin | Works when phone is flat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fob or card | Per member | Constant | ✓ |
| PIN | None | Low — reissue a code | ✓ |
| Phone-based | None | None | ✕ |
The flat-phone problem is the honest catch, and it’s why most gyms running phone-based access keep a fallback — a PIN, or a manual code at reception.
Why it matters for your gym
Fobs are a small recurring tax. Someone loses one most weeks, and each costs the fob, the admin and a conversation.
Phone-based access removes that, and removes the gap that matters more: a fob keeps working until someone remembers to deactivate it. A credential driven by the membership record stops when the membership stops.
Members also prefer it, because they’ll forget a fob and never forget a phone.
How PATO handles it
Two phone-based methods. A QR gym key for check-in, and a PIN members can view and reissue where Access Pro is running — provisioned when they join, revoked when they leave, driven by the same membership record.
Common questions
- What if a member’s phone is dead?
- Keep a fallback. A manual code at reception covers it.
- Is it secure?
- Check-in codes are short-lived rather than static, and access is tied to a specific member — so unlike a passed-around fob, entries are attributable.
- Do I need to replace my door hardware?
- Not necessarily. Tell us what’s on your doors and we’ll confirm.
PATO