ATLANTA — Georgia residents will soon be able to store their driver's license and ID card in their iPhones.
Georgia will be among the first states, along with Arizona, to add the state-issued IDs to the iPhone's Wallet app, according to a release from Apple.
The update will allow the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to have select airport security checkpoints and lanes in participating airports. These will be the first locations customers can use their driver’s license or state ID in Wallet.
State leaders are excited about this new technology.
“We are honored to work with Apple as an initial adopter for such a revolutionary customer experience," Spencer R. Moore, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Driver Services, said. "A state-issued credential has become the standard for which institutions of all sectors use as a trusted source of identity proofing. The identity proofing bar has been raised significantly thanks to Apple and innovative states like Georgia.”
Having these pieces of digital identification in Wallet should provide an easy and more secure way for people to present their driver’s license or state ID using their iPhone or Apple Watch, the company said.
They say a customers’ identity data is encrypted and protected against tampering and theft.
“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.
“We are excited that the TSA and so many states are already on board to help bring this to life for travelers 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.”
Users will be able to add a license or ID the same way they add a credit card to Wallet. When someone needs to present the identification, they just need to tap their iPhone or Apple Watch at the identity reader.
Expect this feature to be released in the upcoming fall debut of iOS 15 later this year.
Arizona and Georgia will be the first states to release the new feature to residents. Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah will follow.
For more information on the new feature, visit the Apple website.