Google Wallet Rolls Out Support For Insurance Cards, QR Codes
Google has announced significant upgrades for its Wallet app that'll help banish more physical cards from your actual wallet. It will soon support a broader range of pass types, from gym memberships to transit tickets and parking passes. You can convert almost any physical card with scannable QR codes into a digital one by taking a photo, which is then securely stored in the Wallet.
Google has also partnered with Humana, the health insurance company, to develop a digital version of its health insurance card that users can store in their Google Wallet. Similarly, in the U.K., the Wallet will allow citizens to store their National Insurance Number. Naturally, these card types require additional security measures to protect the sensitive information included on them, so expect a slower rollout for other health services.
Adding to these features, Google Wallet is also digitizing state-issued IDs, beginning with Maryland. The feature is set to expand to Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia in the coming months. You can use them for specific purposes that don't require your physical card, such as at TSA PreCheck lines at select airports. Further planned functionality includes using the digital ID for car bookings and online account verification, which Google expects to launch later this year.
Restaurant reservations, transit tickets, and corporate badges coming too
If that's not enough, Google Wallet will streamline the travel check-in process. You'll soon be able to receive boarding passes or train tickets directly in Google's Messages app (as long as you have RCS messaging enabled) and save it to your Wallet, helpful for exchanging passes between family and friends or receiving confirmations from your booking agency via text. This service kicks off in Vietnam with Vietnam Airlines, and those in Spain can use it with transit rails operated by Renfe. In parallel, Google is working on digitizing passes in more countries, with Germany pegged as the next testing ground.
Like reserving tables at your favorite restaurants? You'll be able to add your reservation to Google Wallet immediately upon receiving the confirmation through Messages. Google namedrops TagMe, a restaurant management solution, as an early adopter for this functionality. Hopefully, services like OpenTable won't take long to catch on.
Google Wallet support is also expanding to corporate spaces. Digital corporate passes will allow employees to access key buildings, rooms, and systems without lugging their passes and badges everywhere. Those can be quite annoying to carry daily after they stack up, but it's still probably much easier than lobbying for IT to adopt the change within your lifetime.