Digital wallets are becoming an increasingly popular way to pay on the go. The idea is simple: Why carry a wallet when you can save your credit card to your Android phone? It makes sense and reduces the number of things you need to keep track of. Google Wallet takes this a step further by allowing you to save items other than credit cards to your digital wallet. What items exactly? Read on to find out.
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Boarding passes
Boarding passes are essential for air travel. You need them to get through security, confirm the time the flight is leaving, and find your gate. While traditionally they have been paper, they’ve recently become digital, through the airline’s app or a digital wallet. Google Wallet can store boarding passes, so you don’t need a paper boarding pass. It also updates the gate or flight time on the boarding pass if it changes, which keeps you up to date if anything changes.
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Event tickets
There are numerous fun events you can attend, such as concerts, festivals, sports games, and more. You need tickets to attend them, and most aren’t paper anymore. However, you usually need several apps depending on the venue or type of event, which is tedious to keep track of. Make it simple and add them to Google Wallet. Google Wallet can store all types of tickets and event passes, giving you a simple centralized place to find everything you need. When the event is over, Google Wallet makes it easy to remove the pass, so your app won’t be cluttered with used tickets.
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Transit passes
Source: Google
Public transit is useful for getting all over the place, no matter what major city you’re in. Each system has its version of passes, whether monthly passes or reloadable cards. Normally, you need a specific app or physical pass to catch a ride, but Google Wallet allows you to store and use passes from many major transit authorities around the US. Then, you can use Google Wallet to travel as needed.
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Loyalty cards
Source: Google Wallet
Most businesses have a loyalty or rewards program to give their customers benefits for coming more often. Sometimes, this comes in the form of a physical card that is used during checkout. If you have rewards cards for several businesses, they can fill up your wallet. Google Wallet can also store loyalty cards. Google Wallet recognizes common cards, adds them, and gives you an easily accessible barcode to scan at checkout.
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Gift cards
Gift cards are a popular way to give someone a gift that’s more flexible than a specific item. It allows the recipient to pick an item that’s perfect for them, and potentially pool gift cards to get a more expensive item. During holidays or birthdays, you may receive numerous gift cards that are hard to keep track of. Google Wallet gives you a single place to store all your gift cards to redeem later.
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Hotel keys
Source: Club Quarters Hotels
Most hotels have key cards to swipe instead of physical keys to get into your hotel room. However, more sophisticated hotels allow you to tap your key card to get into your room. Some hotels allow guests to use Google Wallet to store hotel keys instead of the physical key card. Currently, it’s limited to Club Quarter Hotels and other random individual hotels, but hopefully it’ll expand soon.
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Corporate badges
Many business buildings require badges to enter them, making them more secure. You need your badge to get in, and if you forget it, you may be able to show a government-issued ID or corporate ID to get in. To avoid this, some buildings allow users to save their pass to Google Wallet on their phone, eliminating physical badges or allowing for a backup option. Then, you tap your phone to get in, nothing more.
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Student IDs
Students need IDs for several things, including accessing buildings, getting meals in the dining hall, and getting student discounts at certain stores. If they lose their ID, they may lose access to services they need. To make it harder to lose or easier for students to use, Google enabled the ability to save student IDs to Google Wallet in 64 countries and territories. Since students will likely have their phones with them at all times, it makes it easier to have their student ID on the phone.
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Driver’s licenses
A driver’s license is necessary to be able to drive, and it is the most common form of ID for proving your identity and age. Having a license with you at all times is a good idea and sometimes essential, but can be annoying to keep track of if you don’t want to carry a wallet. If you lose it, getting a replacement can be difficult. In some states in the US, you can store your license in Google Wallet. It’s not available in all states. It’s only available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and New Mexico as of March 2025. Hopefully, its availability will grow with time.
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Passport
Passports are necessary for traveling and as a form of ID. Google Wallet lets you supplement your passport on your phone with an ID pass. An ID pass allows Google Wallet to save your passport for use in certain situations. An ID pass cannot replace a passport in all situations, but it can be used in certain scenarios. An ID pass can be used at TSA checkpoints for domestic travel in select airports in the US. It can also be used as a form of ID in certain situations, but make sure to have your actual passport with you in case you need it.
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Health insurance card
Health insurance cards are another important piece of information to have on you at all times in case you need medical attention. While you can carry the physical card, you can also save it to Google Wallet. While it may not be as simple as adding a credit card or similar item to Google Wallet, you can scan it or save it through your healthcare provider to save it to Google Wallet. Then you’ll have all the important medical information you need at your fingertips when you need it.
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COVID-19 vaccination records
Source: Google Wallet
In addition to health insurance information, Google Wallet allows users to save their vaccination information on their phones. In some countries or areas, or for other purposes, like a job, you must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Most people have a physical card or records with their doctor that prove they were vaccinated. However, this isn’t helpful if it isn’t with you and it’s a bit unreasonable to expect people to carry their vaccination card, their credit cards, and IDs in their wallet. That’s why Google Wallet allows users to store this information so that they can share it when needed.
One place for everything
Google Wallet is good for storing and using credit and debit cards, but can do much more. It can store several other items such as IDs, transit passes, gift cards, and more. Google Wallet works well, but sometimes runs into issues, which are often easily fixed.
