When a member of your club wants to visit a reciprocal club, they traditionally need a letter of introduction. That usually means emails, phone calls, headed paper, and somebody's signature. Affinet replaces all of that with a simple, secure digital process that your members can start themselves — and you stay in charge every step of the way.
How It Works
The process is straightforward for both members and administrators. Here's what happens from start to finish:
1. Your member makes a request. They find the reciprocal club in the Affinet directory, choose their visit dates, and submit a request. Their personal details are encrypted the moment they're entered.
2. You receive an approval link. As the club administrator, you get an email with a secure link. Click it to review the request and either approve or decline — no login required.
3. The letter is emailed to the member Once approved, your member receives a digital wallet pass — for Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — that they add to their phone in one tap. It carries your club's branding, the visit dates, and a QR code for instant verification. A PDF letter and email are also sent, so every base is covered.
4. The reciprocal club verifies it instantly. Your member simply shows the pass on their phone. Staff at the host club scan the QR code — or look up the reference code on a simple verification page — and see immediately whether the letter is valid, expired, or revoked. No app download, no login, no fuss.
The wallet pass is what makes this feel truly modern. No printing, no rummaging through emails at the front desk. The letter lives on your member's phone alongside their boarding passes and event tickets — always accessible, always up to date. If you revoke a letter, the pass updates automatically. It's the difference between handing someone a piece of paper and giving them something that just works.
For returning visitors, the process is even faster. After the first approved request, your member receives a short validation code that lets them request future letters without needing your approval each time — as long as their membership is still current.
What You Control
This is your club's process, and Affinet keeps it that way. Every first-time request must be approved by you before a letter is issued. You set the membership end dates, so the system automatically stops issuing letters when a membership lapses. And if circumstances change, you can revoke any letter at any time from your dashboard — the verification page and the member's wallet pass both update instantly.
Getting Set Up
There's no software to install and no technical work on your end. Affinet configures everything based on the details you provide: your club's letterhead, your preferred signatory name and title, and a contact email for processing queries. Once those are in place, you can turn the service on. Your members can find reciprocal clubs and request letters straight from the directory — and you'll receive approval requests as they come in.
Setup in brief: provide your letterhead, signatory details, and contact email. Affinet handles the rest. Most clubs are up and running within a day.
Privacy and Security
Member data is treated with real care. Personal details are always stored encrypted and are only decrypted when needed to provide the service — for example, when generating a letter or displaying a request for approval. Once a member's membership expiry date passes, their personal data is removed entirely.
For destination clubs, incoming visits can be added to a calendar so your front-of-house team knows who to expect, can prepare a warm welcome, and is aware of any specifics about the visit.
Once the visit has ended, the visitor's personal details are anonymised. We retain the visit metadata — dates, home club, destination club — so that both clubs can see useful statistics about reciprocal activity, without holding on to anything that identifies the individual.
And because letters can be revoked at any moment, with the wallet pass updating in real time, you're never locked in once a letter has been sent. Affinet's Letters of Introduction service is included for clubs on the reciprocal network. If you'd like to switch it on for your club, get in touch with your Affinet account contact.