Apple's easy-to-use student IDs allow students to buy food and labels in the dorms

Today's students rely on their ID cards for almost everything, including using them to get into the gym or buy the cafeteria's beloved turkey avocado sandwich. That means losing your ID can make campus navigation difficult, and cards can be a pain to replace. Now Apple has a way for students to integrate their ID cards into their iPhones and Apple Watches so they can buy a sandwich without the need for their physical card. Apple is expanding the program to 12 universities so more students can use the technology.

This is what the virtual card looks like in practice:

Image: Apple

The expansion comes as Apple builds more use for Apple Pay and Wallet, including last week's launch of the Apple card and a test that allows commuters use Apple Pay at some bus and subway stations in New York City's MTA. Apple wants to encourage users to take advantage of Apple's payment services and thus make it harder to leave Apple's walls. Apple said in July that iPhone sales are now less than half of Apple's revenue, so the company needs its growing service business to get the money that the iPhone business does not.

Three universities originally supported Apple Wallet ID cards when the feature launched in October, and several have added support since then. Here is the full list of universities that Apple says will support the technology this school year:

• Arkansas State University
• Chowan University
• Clemson University
• Duke University
• Georgetown University
• Johns Hopkins University [19659012] Louisburg College
• Marshall University
• Mercer University
• Norfolk State University
• South Dakota State University
• Temple University
• University of Alabama
• University of North Alabama
• University of Oklahoma
• University of Kentucky
• University of San Francisco
• University of Tennessee
• University of Vermont

I know there are times when I would have appreciated buying the turkey avocado sandwich when I forgot to bring my ID to campus.