Mobile ID use cases beyond mobile driver’s licenses

13 December, 2017

category: Corporate, Digital ID, Government

Mobile IDs are powerful credentials, and there are numerous use cases beyond proving driving privileges. The prospects are endless, from sporting permits to travel documents and gun licenses to health IDs.

“Really, you can think of any ID document that we use today,” says Javier Ramirez, Sales Director Europe for Citizen ID Solutions for HID Global. “For example, hunting or fishing licenses where you can prove that you are in the right area, that you’re using the right weapon to hunt, that you are hunting and fishing the right species. Another one would be a gun license permit.”

For the final installment in our four-part series on mobile IDs, we’re looking into uses for the technology in areas from sports to travel. Ramirez says that it is not just the mobile driver’s license. In reality, any of the multiple IDs in your wallet that need to be regularly updated or renewed can benefit from digitization and mobilization. He stresses that our lives can be made better by the technology, as long as it’s secure and convenient.

For example, a lost passport could be handled through a government app on the user’s smartphone.

“If I am on vacation and have lost my passport, but my government could issue me an immediate safe passage document on my mobile phone, enabling me to return to my country, I can relax and keep on playing with my kids,” Ramirez says. “Also, once there is that communication channel set between the citizen and the government, they can provide emergency notifications. For example, if I am in a country where there is a riot or an earthquake or a tsunami, my government can issue a more targeted warning by region, including suggested paths for me to leave that area.”

Government issuers of the ID can benefit as well. After the user’s initial enrollment or registration, agencies can save time and money by dealing with fewer paper documents and face-to-face transactions. Renewals can be done over the phone, and various biometric options can be used for validation. In fact, in the future, it’s possible that nearly all government communications could be done via mobile – like sending tax bills or traffic fines.

“I don’t need to show up anymore. I just use the app to renew my license,” he says. “They already have my picture, my fingerprints and my data in the database. I take a selfie with the app, and they can compare data with the data that they have in the database.”

“So that is how different it will be than the process today where you need to get an appointment, you might need to wait one hour, and you have to spend time and money to go to that place,” Ramirez says. “All of that would be replaced by something much more convenient to the citizen.”

Listen to the podcast to hear more from HID Global’s Javier Ramirez. You can find the rest of our four-part series Investigating Mobile IDs and Credentials at SecureIDNews.