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I was reading another thread on this forum about using a smartphone to pay: //www.city-data.com/forum/cell-...ell-phone.html
People in many countries are strongly moving to use of smartphones as the preferred method of payment. Perhaps as the only method. Such convenience could very well be the route to go to get to a cash-less economy.
But this does open up a new question, for places where the phone becomes the only pay method used:
Isn't the next logical step having a smartphone-based, secure and government-issue, (IE: officially recognized, fully-accepted), ID?
What would that require?
I could see people wanting this progression so they could eliminate needing a wallet entirely, except I also think of the huge security/fraud/etc. problems, (already displayed with digital voting).
It'll happen eventually. How and when I have no clue but it's going to happen. I can't wait until this happens though. I'd love to be wallet free someday. I'm guessing by the time this happens, then all our cards (insurance, AAA, etc...) will be in our phones as well. The license/ID will be the last thing I'm thinking.
Iowa is or was running a pilot program of using a digital mobile drivers license. I also thought I read something about Apple working on adding the drivers license to Apple Wallet.
I say the sooner we get things like drivers licenses on our smart phones the better. I often forget my wallet at home & regularly go days before realizing I left my wallet in the car or in a coat pocket somewhere. But I rarely forget taking my phone even to the couch, let alone forgetting to take it outside with me.
I say the sooner we get things like drivers licenses on our smart phones the better. I often forget my wallet at home & regularly go days before realizing I left my wallet in the car or in a coat pocket somewhere. But I rarely forget taking my phone even to the couch, let alone forgetting to take it outside with me.
So you run low on gas and discover you can't fuel up with your phone? Unbelievable! Who forgets their wallet for days on end??? That's like saying you forgot to put pants on before you left the house.
So you run low on gas and discover you can't fuel up with your phone? Unbelievable! Who forgets their wallet for days on end??? That's like saying you forgot to put pants on before you left the house.
I'm fortunate to bike (or walk on snowy days) to work everyday so I rarely use my car except for weekends. I don't need my wallet for work, so I'm in the habit of walking out the door without it. Same with the grocery store. Bike there & use Apple pay. It's a beautiful thing. It hasn't been an issue.
I'm fortunate to bike (or walk on snowy days) to work everyday so I rarely use my car except for weekends. I don't need my wallet for work, so I'm in the habit of walking out the door without it. Same with the grocery store. Bike there & use Apple pay. It's a beautiful thing. It hasn't been an issue.
Yet.
May it never be, but if you get stopped by a cop or have an accident on your bike (Who is this guy? Does he have insurance?)having a wallet with ID would be very helpful. I know that in many towns getting stopped by a cop and not having ID could get you a ride to the Station to sort things out.
May it never be, but if you get stopped by a cop or have an accident on your bike (emergency contact, insurance card with you) having a wallet with ID would be very helpful. I know that in many towns getting stopped by a cop and not having ID could get you a ride to the Station to sort things out.
The whole point of this thread is to discuss what it would take to have ALL wallet functions served by a phone, including police-accepted ID.
So if you were biking or jogging, instead of remembering to take your wallet, you'd take your phone. (maybe on an arm clip?).
This brings up another aspect a phone/ID would need:
Be usable as an ID without being unlocked by the user. IE: car accident and owner is unconscious. First Responders need contact info.
And another function that would come in VERY handy:
Ditto, for Medic-Alert info. Same example.
Be usable as an ID without being unlocked by the user. IE: car accident and owner is unconscious. First Responders need contact info.
And another function that would come in VERY handy:
Ditto, for Medic-Alert info. Same example.
Apple has a medical ID that is accessible from the phone without being unlocked by the user. I think this is a good start. They can put your ID in there and other related things.
I'm sure we'll get here - but not without a fight. I think there will be a lot of privacy concerns - even if the information would be no less safe then they are now.
Why a phone? Why not just use biometrics to identify yourself? That would be easier as there will be no need to create an ID or carry anything. Aside from law enforcement or in an official capacity, your fingerprint won't provide any info. It'll simply provide verification status - for example, being carded for buying alcohol or going into a bar? The scanner will simply send back a yes/no to being over 21. Need to be ID'd for a loan or large purchase? You provide other info (name, DOB, SSN, etc.) that you normally would today, and your fingerprint is simply used to verify all the information checks out (as is with an ID). No need to make copies, etc.
Of course, folks will feel that this can be an invasion of your privacy because all that info can be stolen. Well.... that is already the case today. And actually, not having a physical ID with all that information on it MAY be safer.
I'm sure we'll get here - but not without a fight. I think there will be a lot of privacy concerns - even if the information would be no less safe then they are now.
Why a phone? Why not just use biometrics to identify yourself? That would be easier as there will be no need to create an ID or carry anything. Aside from law enforcement or in an official capacity, your fingerprint won't provide any info. It'll simply provide verification status - for example, being carded for buying alcohol or going into a bar? The scanner will simply send back a yes/no to being over 21. Need to be ID'd for a loan or large purchase? You provide other info (name, DOB, SSN, etc.) that you normally would today, and your fingerprint is simply used to verify all the information checks out (as is with an ID). No need to make copies, etc.
Of course, folks will feel that this can be an invasion of your privacy because all that info can be stolen. Well.... that is already the case today. And actually, not having a physical ID with all that information on it MAY be safer.
Bio-metrics on the phone would / could be used to protect data within the phone, sure. Not on topic though.
Bio-metrics off the phone, IE: a bar, won't happen. The technology is there sure, but politics and economics are way against it.
RE: privacy concerns: Just because there is existing risk doesn't mean adding to that risk by a massive amount would be acceptable to the public. Connecting every bar and convenience store, (voting booths, airline tickets, hotel check-ins, etc that now accept a DL) to be able to read and confirm your fingerprints, and providing the data flow to verify is just too much to expect.
Beside, it's not feasible to add hardware at every place a person might need to prove ID.
Look how resistant the US merchants are at springing for the $250 or so for replacing credit-card terminals that read the cc's chips.
It's so much more economical and convenient to have the ID-mechanism carried on the person. Right now, it's a pretty-hard-to-forge State Issued DL. I'm noting that pretty much every person has a smartphone, and many already trust it for payment processes. Thus this thread.
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