What a digital driver’s licence on your phone could look like

Apple and the state of Arizona in the USA have launched the first driver’s licence and state ID which can be kept in Apple’s Wallet app.

The Wallet app is a familiar feature to iPhone and Apple Watch users in South Africa, who can use it for a range of actions – including storing a digital version of their credit card to pay for goods at NFC-enabled terminals.

The move by Apple and the state of Arizona come at the same time as South Africa’s Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula confirming the government has plans to introduce a digital driver’s licence in the country in the coming years.

Mbalula said the project will be headed by the Driving Licence Card Account – which is currently responsible for the production of physical driving licence cards in South Africa.

The minister said the digital driver’s licence will be accessible through a driver’s smartphone.

Apple’s solution

While South Africans wait for more information from the minister on the digital driver’s licence, we can look to the USA for insight into how a system like this could work.

Apple said that from this week, Arizonans can add their driver’s licence to their Wallet.

This will allow users to tap their iPhone or Apple Watch at supported points to present their licence. For example, at an airport security checkpoint.

Apple said the state of Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Ohio will soon join in the project, too.

How to add and use the licence

Apple said adding a driver’s licence to your iPhone’s wallet can be done “in a few simple steps.”

Users take their iPhone, tap the “+” button on the Wallet app, and select “Driver’s License or State ID.”

A set of instructions is then provided to complete a verification process. This includes taking a selfie and scanning the front and back of the physical driver’s licence card.

This information is then shared with the issuing state for verification. Users will also be asked to “complete a series of facial and head movements during the setup process”.

Once the licence has been added, users can use it at places like airport security checkpoints – approving the sharing of their licence information using Face ID or Touch ID “without having to unlock their iPhone or show their ID card.”

“The user has the opportunity to review and authorise the information being requested before it is shared,” said Apple.

“Additionally, driver’s licence and state ID in Wallet is presented digitally through encrypted communication directly between the device and the identity reader, so users do not need to show or hand over their device.”