UK to Make Government-Issued Documents Available in Digital Wallet

The U.K. government said Tuesday (Jan. 21) that it will launch a GOV.UK Wallet later this year and then work to issue government-issued letters and identity documents virtually and make them available to people on their phones.

Digital versions of a Veteran Card and a driver’s license will be available for the wallet later this year, and all government services will be required to offer digital credentials by the end of 2027, the U.K. government said in a Tuesday press release.

Use of the digital versions of government-issued documents will be optional, and traditional physical documents will remain available, according to the release.

“For people who choose to use GOV.UK Wallet, they will find it easier to prove they’re entitled to benefits or check their age when buying alcohol or DIY equipment, with more security and trust than ever before,” Science Secretary Peter Kyle said in the release. “Crucially, it also opens huge opportunities to make interacting with public services much easier by putting people in control of their own data.”

With the wallet, digital credentials will be accessible immediately after people successfully apply for them, according to the release.

The wallet will use facial recognition checks and other security features that are built into modern smartphones, the release said. It will also use the GOV.UK One Login, providing a single sign on for accessing government services.

“We will be overhauling how the public sector uses technology which is essential to delivering our Plan for Change, and in combination with this new tech for people to use themselves, we are going to slash the time people waste dealing with annoying processes so they can focus on what matters to them,” Kyle said in the release.

The U.K.’s Plan for Change aims to deliver sustained economic growth by fostering collaboration between technology and creative sectors, PYMNTS reported in December.

Two U.K. regulators — the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — said in July that they were gathering information on the benefits and risks of digital wallets for people and businesses.

Forty-four percent of U.K. consumers expect to continue using digital wallets in the next three years, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Google Wallet collaboration, “Digital Wallets Beyond Financial Transactions: U.K. Edition.”

The report found that while digital wallets are most often used for online payments, they are also being used by U.K. consumers for other activities like presenting boarding passes or public transport tickets and verifying their identity.