Google Wallet Rolling Out US Biometric Passports

by Chris Burt | Biometric Update

Google Wallet is rolling out support for American biometric passports, according to an X post from code leaker Assemble Debug.

The post, spotted by Android Police, specifies that the feature will only be available in the U.S. to start.

Users scan their passport with Google Wallet to add it as an ID pass, and can then perform identity verification by connecting their phone to an NFC scanner or scanning a QR code generated by the ID pass. They are still recommended to carry a physical copy of their passport, however.

The feature is not currently live, but expected to be included in an imminent update.

Code for integrating passports was shipped with the beta version of the digital wallet, and Apple Wallet has reportedly already begun building a similar capability into its APIs.

A feature guide at the time of the beta release stated that the feature is intended for use at “select TSA checkpoints.”

Tom’s Guide notes that digitized 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. Read Full Article >