by Rhoda Wilson, Expose News:
e-Passports are coming. Google Wallet is rolling out digital support for American biometric passports and Apple Wallet is doing the same under the guise of Japan’s digital ID agenda.
Smartphones and mobile payment applications (“apps”) are poised to replace our physical banking cards, with services such as Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay at the forefront of “revolutionising” our payment methods.
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Currently, people can enter all their bank cards, passes, keys, tickets and IDs into each one of these apps and use them in different locations without needing to hold and carry the physical version.
Now Big Tech has its eye on travel documents. In the words of Android Police:
Google Wallet is set to offer a new level of convenience. With the rising adoption of Google’s mobile payment service in the US and the recent addition of numerous banks, Google Wallet is not just about storing your financial information. It’s about making your wallet even lighter by allowing you to create an ID pass with your passport.
For now, the ID pass option is only available to US citizens, and it remains to be seen if Google will expand it to more countries. Moreover, it is not yet live on Google Wallet, but it should land on the app with the upcoming updates.
Google Wallet to support digital passports in the US, Android Police, 4 July 2024
Originally, the Google Wallet code stated that the digital e-Passport “isn’t an official ID and doesn’t replace your physical passport.” So why are they doing it?
They are marketing an e-Passport as a convenience. But that’s just marketing. In reality, they are testing a system of centralised digital control while at the same time conditioning the public into accepting a digital passport.
It is the next step towards the merging of digital payments, digital IDs and digital travel documents. As you can see in the screenshot below, once Google’s new feature is available in the Google Wallet, users can add their passports to create an ID pass. Additionally, they’ll have another option to add a driver’s license or ID in US states that support such functionality.
Tom’s Guide noted that digitised passports could in theory also be used for age or identity verification, like digital IDs stored in Apple Wallet, but Google has yet to comment on this possibility.
It’s not only digital IDs and digital passports that they aim to merge nor is the scheme restricted to the US. As Biometric Update noted:
Google Wallet also added support for 29 more banks to its payment feature in June and is up to 170 added this year alone, indicating the focus remains on payments, for now.
Mobile driver’s licenses from several states are already available in Google Wallet, however, like Georgia, Arizona, Colorado and Maryland, so some Americans have already been using it at airports.
Google Wallet has also integrated access control credentials from HID Global.
In Europe, where member states are working towards launching interoperable digital wallets for all citizens, they will store national ID cards that function as travel IDs within the EU and are also being implemented for access to restricted content online.
The potential market, therefore, is neither specific to the US nor travel, but in theory could extend to include every application that people can present their passports for, including online financial services and government interactions. With no equivalent to the EU Digital Wallet, the Americas seem headed towards a system where digital IDs are served through mobile wallets provided by the usual tech giant incumbents.
Google Wallet takes next step with US biometric passports, Biometric Update, 8 July 2024
It’s not only Google that has ambitions of issuing e-Passports. Apple Wallet has reportedly already begun building a similar capability into its application programming interfaces (“APIs”), software that allows two applications to talk to each other. In a set of APIs to be used in Japan that have the potential to generate digital IDs based on biometric passports, it has been noted that the “JP” prefix in the API names is absent indicating they are designed for universal use and are not limited to Japan.
Digital IDs and digital passports are not the conveniences they are sold to us as. The technology may fail and batteries may die, which would leave you stranded. Or you may find yourself in a spot that doesn’t accept digital passports or where internet connectivity is poor, intermittent or unavailable. And, it is important to note that those issuing the digital ID and/or e-Passport are not government officials who are accountable to the electorate – they are being issued by for-profit privately held companies.
