Apple Wallet is already the best digital wallet platform on the market. During the opening keynote for WWDC 2021, Apple announced it's gaining support for a new type of card — driver's licenses/personal IDs. While it may take some time for virtual IDs to be widely available for everyone to use, this should allow a lot of users to finally ditch their physical wallets/purses for nothing but the Apple Wallet app.
Today, Apple Wallet is already incredibly powerful. It can be used to store credit and debit cards, rewards cards for stores, student IDs, airplane boarding passes, concert tickets, and more. It's essentially a virtual replacement for a physical wallet, and compared to competing apps like Samsung Pay and Google Pay, it's far ahead of the competition.
As mentioned above, Apple Wallet will soon allow users to use the app to store their driver's license or state ID. It's a feature that Apple says will be added with iOS 15, and it's the last component of a real wallet that Apple Wallet has previously been missing. While IDs are the main focus, they aren't the only new cards coming to Apple Wallet. iOS 15 will also update the app to support virtual cards for home smart locks, hotel room keys, and work badges/IDs.
How Personal IDs In Apple Wallet Will Work
So, what will driver's licenses/personal IDs look like in Apple Wallet? In short, just like a physical ID card. They'll showcase someone's legal name, photo, date of birth, and their Real ID tag if their physical ID card has one. ID cards stored in Apple Wallet are fully encrypted, ensuring users can add them without any privacy or security concerns.
With a virtual ID/driver's license stored in Apple Wallet, users will (in theory) be able to use it just like their physical card. Whether someone needs to show their card when getting a drink at a restaurant, have proof of their license while driving, or even share their personal info with TSA while at an airport, ID cards in Apple Wallet will be able to do all of it.
Personal IDs/driver's licenses will be supported in Apple Wallet starting with iOS 15, but that doesn't mean iPhone users will be able to add their ID as soon as they download the update later this fall. States across the U.S. need to support the feature for it to actually work, and depending on where someone lives, that could take some time. As states do add support, however, adding an ID is as easy as opening the Wallet app, scanning the front and back of the card, and it'll automatically be added. It's the last big puzzle piece Apple Wallet has been missing, so fingers crossed Apple can work with states to get the feature supported as quickly as possible.
Source: Apple