The app is working on letting users replace all the plastic cards they usually carry with them.
Google has announced that its Google Wallet is nearly ready for a substantial line of new features that will expand the way it can be used.
The announcement was recently made on the company’s Keyword Blog.
According to the search giant, Google Wallet users will be able to further reduce the amount they’re carrying among their physical cards. The app will increasingly allow cards to be scanned so that their plastic alternatives won’t need to be brought with you. The process will involve saving passes and memberships into the app from images.
Therefore, if a user has a physical gym membership card with a barcode on it, it won’t be long before that individual can simply take a picture using the application, adding it to their passes for quick and easy access even without having the plastic card with them.
The Google Wallet feature will work for QR code tickets, transit passes, parking passes and others.
The feature is also expected to soon be able to include identification such as health insurance cards that can be scanned. This will likely be in place by the time the update to the application rolls out. The search giant partnered with Humana in order to ensure that it would be able to offer this addition.
Furthermore, for UK users, it will be possible to save their National Insurance Number from the HMRC application.
Since the data contained within those cards is exceptionally sensitive, users will have a “private pass” label to work with, requiring them to use a PIN or a biometric identifier such as a fingerprint in order to view the barcode, its numbers, or any of the other information associated with the card.
Maryland residents and anyone who has a driver’s license issued in Maryland are already able to save that ID into their Google Wallet. The upcoming update will let users include tickets and boarding passes that they can add directly from their Messages. That said, upon initial rollout, those last features will work exclusively with Vietnam Airlines and Renfe, though the hope is that more flight providers will participate soon.
