“Starting soon, we’ll begin beta testing a new type of digital ID in Google Wallet, giving more people in more places a way to create and store a digital ID, now with a US passport,” Jenny Cheng, Google Wallet’s VP and GM, has revealed.
“People are increasingly looking for ways to digitize everyday items — with one of the top requests being a digital ID,” Cheng explains in a blog post.
“Creating an ID pass is easy: Select the prompt in the Google Wallet app to ‘create an ID pass with your US passport’ and follow the instructions to scan the security chip in the back of your passport. You’ll be asked to take a selfie video to verify your identity, and Google Wallet will notify you when your ID pass is ready (typically within a few minutes).”
“While ID passes are accepted at select TSA checkpoints today, we’re working with partners so you can use digital IDs in even more situations — for example, in the future we believe you should be able to use digital ID for things like account recovery, identity verification and even car rentals,” she adds.
“This technology is in its early stages, so it’s important to know that a digital ID in Google Wallet is not a replacement for your physical ID. For now, you need to carry a physical ID with you when traveling.”
State IDs
“We recently expanded the ability for Android users in California to save their state-issued ID or driver’s license in their Google Wallet app. In the coming months, people with an Iowa, New Mexico or Ohio state-issued ID will also be able to save their ID in Wallet.
“We’re also expanding the places and ways you can use state-issued IDs in Google Wallet app. Colorado is releasing a new reader within the MyColorado app allowing businesses throughout the state to securely and easily accept digital IDs. This means if you have a state-issued ID saved, you’ll be able to use it in more places.
Transit
“The number of people using Google Wallet for their commutes has more than doubled in the last 18 months, and we’re adding even more types of transit cards you can save to Wallet,” Cheng also revealed.
“Commuters in the US can now add select prepaid commuter benefit cards to Google Wallet, starting with Edenred and HealthEquity. We’re also working with transit and payment providers to bring mobile payments to more commuters globally.
“We recently added the ability for commuters in Hamburg, Germany to save their public transport tickets to Google Wallet, and soon we’ll begin rolling out this option for iPASS Card users in Taiwan and more Octopus Card users in Hong Kong. In Germany, where more than a half million people store their Deutschlandticket in Google Wallet, we now support secure ticketing with Motics which provides advanced protection against copying and tampering.
“We’re also introducing new features to make your journey smoother, including automatically importing tickets from booking confirmations sent to Gmail so you can easily find them when you need to. Starting soon, you can also view live train status updates from your ticket in Wallet to see if your train is on time or delayed and see train tickets for upcoming rides.”
Updates
Google Wallet “now features new notifications when a pass changes or gets a message. For example, you’ll get a notification if the assigned seat on your boarding pass changes or if your favorite coffee shop has a new daily special,” Cheng explained. “And in addition to accessing your passes from your Android device, you can now access them on the web at wallet.google.com.”
“We’ll keep working with partners around the world to bring new and helpful features to Google Wallet, making it the most convenient, secure option for your daily essentials — whatever they are and wherever you go.”
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