BNY Mellon Unlocks Global Offices with Mobile Access Partnership

How does a 241-year-old institution reimagine building access for its employees?

BNY Mellon (BNY) started with a simple question: What do our employees want?

The answer was overwhelmingly positive. BNY discovered that its workforce was enthusiastic about the prospect of mobile access solutions. The company had already been considering implementing such technology, and the team was excited about offering a modern, convenient experience that would allow employees worldwide to enter BNY locations using just their iPhone or Apple Watch.

“The idea of people easily navigating our facilities globally just brings a smile to your face,” says Ken Damstrom, Global Head of Corporate Security at BNY. “But it really brings a smile to their face because when they come to work with their iPhone, they don’t necessarily need to bring their physical ID badge. How powerful is that?”

Assembling the Right Team

To bring this vision to life, BNY partnered with SwiftConnect, a connected access network provider, and HID, a mobile access provider. Choosing experienced and reputable partners with cutting-edge technologies was crucial for BNY. For this project, those technologies included employee badge in Apple Wallet, HID’s mobile-enabled Signo readers, and the reliable SwiftConnect connected access network.

How Does the Technology Work?

Two key components of BNY’s initiative were essential to its success.

Employee badge in Apple Wallet, combined with HID’s mobile-enabled Signo readers, provides employees and their guests with easy and secure access to corporate spaces using only their iPhone or Apple Watch. Users simply hold their device near a reader to open doors, turnstiles, elevators, and other spaces.

SwiftConnect unifies identity and physical access into one seamless experience, connecting systems and spaces into a unified network. It supports on-demand access via mobile credentials and optimizes existing methods like fobs and cards for secure, consistent access—replacing friction with fluidity at every interaction.

“What we learned by partnering with SwiftConnect and HID was that employee badge in Apple Wallet was absolutely ready for prime time,” says Ken Damstrom. “We’ve had nothing but confidence in rolling it out in our organization.”

Making Mobile Access a Reality

With the full support of its partners, BNY launched its new mobile access solution at its New York City headquarters, followed by expansions to offices in Boston, London, India, and beyond. The plan is to implement the technology at all 110 BNY locations in 35 countries worldwide.

Regardless of the country, employee badge in Apple Wallet will function consistently across all BNY facilities. This is crucial because it allows employees to seamlessly and securely enter and move around multiple locations. Additionally, with Express Mode, employees don’t even need to unlock their device to use their employee badge in Apple Wallet. Even if the phone’s battery is low, Power Reserve mode allows the device to still be used for access.

When an employee uses employee badge in Apple Wallet, their data is never shared with Apple or stored on Apple servers. If an iPhone or Apple Watch is misplaced, the owner can quickly use the Find My app to lock the device and help locate it. Employee badges in Apple Wallet are stored on personal devices and take full advantage of the privacy and security built into iPhone and Apple Watch.

“We wanted consistency across our real estate portfolio, so whether you’re in New York, Lake Mary, or London, you know how to access the site because you know how to use employee badge in Apple Wallet,” says Dafna Alsheh, Global Head of Workplace Experience & Design at BNY.

The combination of these technologies is now helping BNY create a convenient, quick access experience for employees while ensuring a secure workplace.

“One of the things that makes employee badge in Apple Wallet really impactful is that it works the same at work as it does when they’re at the store or on the subway, so you don’t have to teach people how to use it,” says Dafna Alsheh. “We’ve had people who are like, ‘wow, this just works.’ But when they realize they can use their Apple Watch, then they’re like, ‘this is magic.’”

Watch BNY’s experience in a short video available now.