What you need to know
- Samsung Wallet for select states in the U.S. gets support state IDs.
- Arizona and Iowa residents are the first to board with their mobile driver licenses.
- It will be available for them later this year through Samsung Wallet for Galaxy devices.
Very soon, saving driving licenses and state IDs will be very convenient for Galaxy phone users — thanks to newly added support in Samsung Wallet.
Residents across select states, including Arizona and Iowa, will be the first to receive the benefit as they can store the digital versions of their driver's licenses on their phones. The support extends to all Galaxy devices featuring Samsung Wallet, including the recent Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5.
For developers, Samsung says it will release a new software development kit (SDK) in early 2024 that allows them to integrate online age and ID information into their apps "to help reduce fraud and friction with the verification process."
"In early 2024, Samsung will release the SDK for developers for 'Know Your Customer' applications where a true identity is required. This will allow app makers to easily place a 'verified ID' button within their app to efficiently and securely prove the user's identity – reducing the user burden of ID verification and reducing the drop-off rate for businesses and services that require this information," Samsung notes in a shared press release.
To onboard residents hassle-free, Samsung is partnering with IDEMIA, which claims to issue 55 million identity documents in the United States annually. Samsung will adhere to ISO/IEC 18013-5 standard for driver licenses, making it "secure, accurate, and private."
Users storing their driver licenses on Samsung devices are assured of security, and the complete control to manage it will be in the hands of the license holder.
Samsung intends to broaden digital ID availability, usage, and acceptance across industries. The company says it is working closely with some more early-adopting states and will collaborate with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for a test program. The program aims to accept mobile driver licenses at 25 federalized airports, at least where the Samsung Wallet is applicable.
This is a significant usage of Samsung Wallet, which already allows users to store cards, passwords, documents, and COVID-19 vaccination cards.
For those unaware, Samsung Wallet was launched last year as a result of merging two previous services from Samsung: Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass. It was initially launched in the U.S. and European regions. Later, it expanded to 13 more countries, and early this year, it ventured into the Indian market.
Samsung's clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 5 is easily one of the best foldable phones of this year. It sports a new wide cover screen, coupled with an improved hinge mechanism.
