Patrick Hearn
Do you use Google Wallet? It’s handy for storing payment methods, event tickets, and much more in an easily accessible place, but now there’s a new feature coming: passports.
Last year, Google introduced the ability to save select state identification cards to your Wallet. The company now says it’s soon going to beta test a new type of digital ID that not only makes this feature available to a larger number of users, but also includes a U.S. passport. And yes, it will work at the airport at select Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints.
Right now, digital IDs are accepted in Hawaii, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, and New York. They’re also accepted in Puerto Rico. That’s less than half the states in the nation, but the number is slowly growing. California only began to support driver’s licenses in Apple Wallet halfway through last month.
Creating the ID is simple. All you have to do is follow the prompt within Google Wallet to create an ID pass and follow the instructions. You’ll need to scan the security chip at the back of your passport, after which you’ll be asked to take and submit a selfie video to verify your identity. Google Wallet will notify you when it finishes the process (which usually only takes a few minutes.)
One thing to remember: a digital ID is a convenience. It isn’t a replacement for your actual passport. You’ll still need to carry the physical version of your passport and/or ID with you, but this means you won’t need to take it out quite as many times — and as such, you reduce the risk of dropping your ID and losing it. Google also hopes that digital IDs can be used for other tasks, like account recovery or car rentals.
We’re still a few years away from the day when we won’t need to carry a physical wallet, but the addition of passports to digital ID systems is a definite improvement and a promising step in the right direction.
