Google Wallet will Allow You to Make a Digital ID from a US Passport for Travelers and Commuters

Google Wallet has been used by millions of people in more than 90 countries and domains for over two years to safely save and access regular necessities like payment cards, tickets to events and trains, and more. Furthermore, the use of digital wallets is rising: 70% of consumers in Brazil, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States use digital wallets, according to a new PYMNTS.com study.

A digital ID that works at TSA checkpoints in nearly half of the country, including states like New York, California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, will begin beta testing in Google Wallet soon. However, Google Wallet still recommends that users keep their physical IDs handy. Google Wallet says it’s additionally working with partners to involve digital IDs for different purposes, similar to car rentals, account recovery, and identity verification.

To make the digital ID, you’ll check the security chip on the back of your passport in the Google Wallet app. Google will request that you verify your identity with a selfie video and afterward create the ID pass within a few minutes. The ID is encrypted, so you’ll require a password or fingerprint to access and share it.

Google Wallet will get some new features to make it a better way to store your credit and debit cards, passes, and more.

Create a digital ID from your U.S. passport

Individuals are progressively searching for ways of digitizing regular things — with one of the top requests being a digital ID. Last year Google Wallet started carrying out the ability to save select state-issued digital IDs to Wallet. Beginning soon, they will start beta testing a new type of digital ID in Google Wallet, giving more individuals in additional spots a method for making and storing a digital ID, presently with a U.S. passport. This new ID pass works at select TSA checkpoints, saving you time and stress at the airport while you’re traveling domestically.

Making an ID pass is simple: Follow the directions to scan the security chip in the back of your passport by selecting the prompt in the Google Wallet app to “create an ID pass with your U.S. passport.” You’ll be asked to take a selfie video to verify your identity, and Google Wallet will inform you when your ID pass is ready (ordinarily within a few minutes). While ID passes are accepted at select TSA checkpoints today, Google Wallet works with partners so you can involve digital IDs in significantly more circumstances — for example, in the future, Google Wallet believes you ought to have the option to involve digital ID for things like account recovery, identity verification, and even car rentals. This technology is in its early stages, so it’s essential to realize that a digital ID in Google Wallet isn’t a substitution for your physical ID. For now, you really want to carry a physical ID with you while traveling.

Google Wallet protects your digital IDs with Android’s advanced security that is private by design. ID passes are stored encrypted, meaning you should validate using your fingerprint, PIN, or password before the ID pass is perceptible or shareable. You are in charge of the shared information: before involving your digital ID for identity verification, you can review what data is being mentioned.

Save more state-issued IDs to Wallet

Android users in California can 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 can likewise save their ID in Wallet.

Colorado is releasing a new reader within the MyColorado app permitting businesses all through the state to safely and effectively accept digital IDs. This implies if you have a state-issued ID saved, you’ll have the option to involve it in additional places.

Commute around the world with Google Wallet

In the past 18 months, the number of commuters who use Google Wallet has more than doubled, and the number of transit cards you can save to Wallet is growing.

Commuters in the U.S. can now add select prepaid commuter benefit cards to Google Wallet, beginning with Edenred and HealthEquity. Additionally, Google Wallet is collaborating with payment and transit providers to make mobile payments accessible to more commuters worldwide. They recently added the ability for commuters in Hamburg, Germany to save their public transport tickets to Google Wallet, and soon they will start carrying out this option for iPASS Card users in Taiwan and more Octopus Card users in Hong Kong. They now support secure ticketing with Motics, which provides advanced protection against copying and tampering, in Germany, where more than half a million people store their Deutschlandticket in Google Wallet.

Google Wallet likewise introduces new features to make your journey smoother, including automatically importing tickets from booking confirmations sent to Gmail so you can undoubtedly track down them as needs be. Beginning soon, you can likewise see live train status updates from your ticket in Wallet to check whether your train is on time or delayed and see train tickets for upcoming rides.

Increase the value of your passes

Google Wallet presently features new notifications when a pass changes or receives a message — for example, you’ll get a notification if the assigned seat on your boarding pass changes or on the other hand if your favorite coffee shop has a new daily special. Furthermore, as well as getting to your passes from your Android gadget, you can now get to them on the web at wallet.google.com.

Google continues to work with partners around the world to carry new and helpful features to Google Wallet, making it the most helpful, secure option for your daily basics — anything that they are and any place you go.

Google declared other new Google Wallet updates for travelers and commuters, similar to notifications about pass updates, so if the allocated seat on your boarding pass changes, you’ll get an alert. Clients can likewise get passes from the web at wallet.google.com as well as utilizing their Android gadgets. Prepaid commuter benefit cards additionally come to Google Wallet, beginning with Edenred and HealthEquity.