The United States is taking another step towards ID digitalisation with Google Wallet. The US tech firm has announced that digital passports and other features will soon be able to be uploaded to the online wallet for selected uses.
Google Wallet at state level
Google Wallet is a digital space where payment methods, and mobility and leisure essentials can be securely stored and accessed. That includes credit and debit cards, loyalty cards, concert and train tickets, and now, for users in some jurisdictions, beta testing for identity documents and passports, which can be kept in one place and “tapped” for easy readability.
At a state level Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland support the Google Wallet ID service, as well as California, rolled out a month ago. It is also is set to become available to residents of Iowa, New Mexico, and Ohio. But when the service goes fully live it will mean all US residents will be able to benefit from digital passport ID. In addition, employee and commuter benefit cards, such as Edenred and HealthEquity, will also function in the ecosystem.
Uploading a document will be a simple three-step process. Users will need to follow online instructions to “create an ID pass with your US passport”, scan their passport’s security chip, and take a selfie video. According to Google, the verification should take only a few minutes and security is provided by encryption and fingerprint, PIN or passcode access.
Slow pace of change
First launched to the mass market in July 2022, around a decade after Apple’s equivalent, Google Wallet is a product used by millions of people and has now moved ahead of Apple, which has not yet launched passport capability.
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson reported by Skift noted that the active digitalisation of identity documents in the US has been “in the works for about 10 years,” with the slow pace compared to elsewhere blamed on the fact that so few states, commerces and hospitality businesses support digital documents.
That situation is compounded by United States law which requires people to carry physical ID even in states that support digital identity documents, making the process of uploading and verifying documents feel pointless. Google is trying to change that culture through the development of state level apps, which will make it easier for businesses to accept the digital docs.
So where can digital passports be used?
It should also be noted that it is not possible to use digitized versions of passports at Customs and Border Protection points either within the US or abroad. The advantage of having them in Google Wallet comes instead from speeding up the processing of users through TSA checkpoints.
At present there are a limited number of these that accept the digital docs, with major hubs such as JFK and LaGuardia in New York City, and LAX and San Francisco International in California at the forefront. Would-be adopters can view a TSA map of checkpoints that accept the digital ID documents.
