Apple believes the future of the wallet is digital and its latest move could condemn our trusty leather companion to the scrap heap for good.
The company has announced the first US states to adopt its plans to integrate the driver’s license or state ID within the Apple Wallet app on iPhone and Apple Watch. Arizona and Georgia will be followed by Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah.
The inclusion will enable US travellers to show their ID digitally to the Transport Security Administration at some US airports, but the possibilities are much wider. It’s possible people could use the digital IDs as proof of age or identity in a number of everyday settings eventually.
If you happen to get pulled over by the police in the United States (not advisable if you can avoid it) you could eventually be able to show them your phone instead of fumbling your actual wallet and them thinking it’s something it’s not.
“The addition of driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet is an important step in our vision of replacing the physical wallet with a secure and easy-to-use mobile wallet,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet in a Newsroom post. “We are excited that the TSA and so many states are already on board to help bring this to life for travellers across the country using only their iPhone and Apple Watch, and we are already in discussions with many more states as we’re working to offer this nationwide in the future.”
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Right now it’s not on the cards for Apple to bring the scheme to the UK, where its efforts do include the ability to add your NHS Covid vaccination card to Apple Wallet.
It’s just the latest move Apple has made to make the physical wallet obsolete. Items like credit cards can sit within Apple Pay, while travel and event tickets can also sit within the digital repository alongside store cards. What next? An iPhone that just pumps out the odd bit of loose change when you need it for parking?
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
