The Google Wallet app will soon support digital IDs created with U.S. passports. It’s Google’s second big step towards digitizing physical wallets and IDs. The app can already create digital IDs based on driver’s licenses and state IDs.
Google just announced that it plans on beta testing ID pass creation with U.S. passports. “This new ID pass works at select TSA checkpoints, saving you time and stress at the airport when you’re traveling domestically,” the announcement reads.
Once the feature gets a wider release, you’ll be able to scan the chip on your passport to generate the ID pass. You’ll see a “create an ID pass with your U.S. passport” button on the Wallet app that can create the ID pass in a matter of minutes. All you need to do is submit a verification video of yourself along with the passport scan.
Once the ID Pass is approved, it will show up in the Wallet along with your other digital ID cards. You just have to tap it and hold it next to the scanner at a supported TSA checkpoint to use it. Google still recommends keeping the physical passport and ID handy because the “digital ID in Google Wallet is not a replacement for your physical ID.”
Until recently, the Google Wallet digital ID only supported driver’s licenses and state IDs issued in four states: Maryland, Georgia, Colorado, and Arizona. Google added California to that list today, and it’ll soon include Iowa, New Mexico, and Ohio. You can use your digital ID at supported TSA checkpoints in 29 airports across the U.S. All you have to do is tap for NFC verification or scan a QR code. The MyColorado app can now verify your identity throughout the state with a Google Wallet ID too.
Google Wallet keeps these IDs encrypted, and you can only access them with your fingerprint, PIN, or password.
Source: Google
