Don't you just hate it when you have to keep all those plastics inside your wallet? We're living in the 21st century, and yet everyone wants to see your membership card, your health insurance card, and on and on and on. You'd thought that it'd be all digitalized by now! Google Wallet's new set of features bring us closer to this dream.
Now, even if your favorite shop or gym doesn't offer a digital membership card, you can easily create one on your Android phone by capturing a photo of your physical card, as long as it has a barcode or QR code.
Image credit Google
Furthermore, Google is now extending support for digital IDs. Starting today, residents of Maryland can add their driver's licenses and ID cards to Google Wallet on any Android device running Android 8 or a newer version. This will expand to Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia in the coming months.
Google Wallet is also broadening its range of offerings to include health insurance cards. Through partnerships with Humana in the US and the UK government's HMRC app, Wallet users will soon have the convenience of storing their health insurance cards digitally.
Image credit Google
As these cards contain sensitive information, users will be required to verify their identity through a phone sign-in, such as using their fingerprint, whenever they wish to access them. Furthermore, Google Wallet plans to introduce support for corporate badges later this year.
Finally, Google's Messages app will play a significant role in delivering digital passes to users with the activation of RCS (Rich Communication Services). Users will be able to effortlessly check in for flights or train rides within the app itself, using a chatbot, and receive their Wallet pass seamlessly. What do you think about it? Physical cards or digital passes?
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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