Iowa Investing in Digital Driver’s License

Iowa may be the first state to invest in digital driver’s licenses for citizens. The Department of Technology is working on a mobile app to allow citizens in Iowa to show the driver’s license on the mobile phone, instead of carrying a card every time they enter the car.

In the past ten years, the movement to digital has been embraced by companies and even enterprise, but government’s still force citizens to carry different forms of identification on cards, instead of a mobile app with more encryption and security. Iowa is changing the system with the new digital driver’s license. The new smartphone app should be ready by next year and citizens can beta test the app in 2015, before an official launch.

It is unclear what platforms Iowa DOT are testing right now, although iOS looks to be the main platform. The app will not open unless the user presents a form of verification, either through a fingerprint, iris or a photograph.

Now Iowa has started the digital trend, we expect other states will start to implement digital driver’s licenses for citizens. Iowa residents will not be able to use the smartphone identification, until the other state accepts the digital technology.

Reward, loyalty and club cards are starting to become a thing of the past with the digital changes. Even though they are still available for users, retailers like Starbucks, Best Buy and Walmart all offer digital services for users.

While we cannot see a digital passport coming any time soon, it is time for governments to start working for audiences who value their phone more than any form of identification.