Mia Taylor | (TNS) TravelPulse
Globetrotters may soon be able to store their U.S. passport in a Google Wallet.
The tech giant has announced that it’s rolling out a variety of new Google Wallet updates aimed at travelers and commuters.
As part of that plan, Google is beta testing the ability to create a digital ID from a U.S. passport, according to a news release from Google. Once uploaded to a Wallet, the digital U.S. Passport ID could be used at select TSA checkpoints by those traveling within the United States.
Google expects that being able to store passports digitally in your Wallet will save “time and stress at the airport when traveling domestically.”
When the new digital passport feature becomes available to the public, users will be able to create their digital ID by selecting the “create an ID pass with your U.S. passport” function in the Google Wallet app.
After that, users will be required to scan the security chip located on the back of passports. The process also involves taking a selfie that will be used to verify identity.
From start-to-finish, creating a digital ID from a passport should take just a few minutes, per Google. The digitized version of one’s passport however, should not replace carrying your actual passport. Google has worked to stress this point.
The company has also underscored that your passport information will be safe when stored in a Wallet.
“ID passes are stored encrypted, meaning you must authenticate using your fingerprint, PIN or passcode before the ID pass is viewable or shareable,” Google said in a statement. “You’re in control of the information shared: before using your digital ID for identity verification, you can review what information is being requested.”
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The passport news is just a small part of Google’s plans when it comes to digitized identification. Last year, the tech company introduced the ability to save select state-issued digital IDs to Wallet.
Now, Google is in talks with partners to make digital IDs acceptable for a variety of additional travel uses, including when renting a car.
“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,” the company said in a statement.
In the future, the Google wallet will automatically import transit tickets from Gmail booking confirmations. With this upcoming function, users will be able to view live train status updates from the ticket in the Google app.
And yet another feature in the works would provide Google Wallet users with notifications if there’s a change to an assigned seat associated with a boarding pass.
Since launching two years ago, people in more than 90 countries and territories have begun using Google Wallet to save and access everything from payment cards to train and event tickets.
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