With the current trend of carrying credit cards, store loyalty cards, and identification cards, wallets are becoming bulkier and it’s tedious to dig through them to find the right card. Wouldn’t it be easier to just show or scan your phone instead?
For Android users, Google Wallet now allows you to upload your driver’s license or state ID to your Google Wallet account. This convenient feature is currently available for certain states in the U.S., making it a quick and easy way to show your credentials when needed.
Although you still need to carry the physical copies of these cards, having them stored in your phone is a great time-saving measure for situations where digging through your wallet or purse is inconvenient. Here’s how to add your ID or driver’s license to Google Wallet.
How to add your ID or driver’s license to Google Wallet
Before adding your driver’s license or state ID to Google Wallet, ensure that your Android device runs on Android 8.0 Oreo or later, Bluetooth and Nearby Devices are enabled, and a screen lock method is set up. After ensuring these requirements, you can proceed with the following steps:
Step 1: Open Google Wallet and choose Add to Wallet.
Step 2: Select ID card, and then select your state.
Step 3: You’ll now enter the verification steps. Start by choosing Continue and then scan the front and back of your ID card.
How to remove your ID or license from Google Wallet
Because your ID card is only stored locally on your device, it’s not vulnerable to hacking into cloud storage or anything similar. However, if you’ve tried it out and found it’s not for you, or if you just aren’t comfortable with having your ID card on your phone, then you can remove it. The removal process can be done directly from your device or remotely through your Google account.
What you can do with your Google Wallet ID
At the moment, this feature is part of a limited rollout and isn’t available in a lot of places. It’s currently accepted in the U.S. state of Maryland and by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in a number of supporting airports. To use your ID card, you can either use NFC to scan it or have it come up as a QR code to be scanned by an official.
Which states support Google Wallet virtual IDs?
At the moment, only Maryland accepts Google Wallet’s ID card system as valid ID, though it’s also accepted at certain TSA checkpoints in supporting airports. The feature will expand to other states in the future, and we’ll update this guide accordingly.
