Smartphones have changed the ways tourists travel around the world. Thanks to technology, it’s easy to store frequent flyer numbers, credit cards and even some state identification cards in virtual wallets.
However, one major identification document has eluded world travelers, a passport. However, even that may be coming to an end thanks to a recent announcement from global tech titan Google.
Coming Soon: Digital Passports
According to a Google blog post, the company will soon be testing the availability to store a U.S. passport as a digital identification in a smartphone Google Wallet app.
The new digital passport is currently set to launch with the technology available at select TSA checkpoints. Initially, it will only be available domestically so travelers will still need to carry a physical passport when traveling overseas for now.
However, knowing the adoption of digital identifications and passes around the world, it will just be a matter of time before the system is out of beta and available in more popular travel destinations around the globe.
How to Add Your Passport
Adding a digital passport will be more involved, and therefore more secure, than simply adding a credit card or other frequent flyer card to a Google Wallet smartphone app.
To add a passport, once the technology is available on a approved device, select the prompt for “add to wallet” then select “ID”.
There will be an option for “create an ID pass with your U.S. passport.” The traveler will then need to have their physical passport in hand to complete the rest of the process.
The next step will be to scan the biometric security chip on the back of the passport. Once the passport is scanned, the last step is the traveler will need to take a selfie to ensure the person entering the passport in the Google Wallet app matches the passport information.
After several minutes, and a confirmed match of the selfie photo and the passport data, the tourist will receive a notification on their smartphone that the digital passport stored in Google Wallet is available for traveler use.
Airline Travel Just the Start
Google states that using passport information for travel is only one of the many possible applications that they have in mind for the technology.
They also anticipate that the digital passport system could streamline other travel tasks such as identity verification and even car rentals.
Tourists should stay tuned for more details and updates as the technology becomes more widely available using the “advanced security” features of smartphones.
What Travelers Need to Know
I noticed before writing this story that there was a update pending for my Google Wallet app and was hoping that I could share a first hand experience with the technology. No luck.
I guess my phone is not part of the roll out for this technology, and Google’s blog post dated September 12 does not indicate when the technology will be available. I have a fairly recent Android phone so we will have to wait and see.
While the technology sounds fun for tech early adopters, like myself, the limited use of the digital passport to domestic locations will limit the adoption of this technology. Although, it would be convenient to have my identification available in the same digital wallet as my boarding pass.
According to Google, users must authenticate themselves with a fingerprint, pin or passcode before using the digital passport. The tech company also recommends having a physical passport on hand at all times, especially during the beta test period.
While it is definitely in the early stage of the technology process, the digital passport technology can eventually be yet another way that smartphones change the way we travel around the world.