Are Driver’s Licenses Headed for Mobile Wallets? (Dec. 15, 2014)
If Maxwell the talking pig can show a police officer his proof of Geico insurance on a smartphone, why not a driver’s license? The Iowa Department of Transportation has said Iowan motorists soon will be able to use a mobile app on their smartphones to display their official driver’s license issued by the department, according to a report in the Des Moines Register.
The app will be provided to drivers at no cost and will be available sometime in 2015, according to DOT Director Paul Trombino. The PIN-protected app will be accepted by Iowa police officers during traffic stops and by security officers screening travelers at Iowa’s airports, he added.
With a growing number of options for consumers to pay using a smartphone, a driver’s license could be one of the last remaining reasons to carry a physical wallet versus storing everything on a smartphone. “We are really moving forward on this [and] we may be the first in the nation [to offer the digital license],” Trombino said. He added that the initiative is a logical step for the DOT as more Iowans rely on their smartphones to conduct routine business.
Although Iowa already enables motorists to show electronic proof of insurance, several states do not..
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