Google recently announced that it’s been working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) towards the integration of Google Wallet with the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program, making it the first digital wallet service to support the feature. The update allows eligible travellers to pass through airport security checkpoints using facial recognition technology, without the need to present a physical ID or boarding pass.
At the moment, the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is available at 65 airports in the US, although availability has previously been limited to a select few airlines which in turn required passengers to manually upload passport details for each individual carrier. That said, the Google Wallet integration will be able to bring this feature to all 100 participating TSA PreCheck airlines. Users will only need to complete a one-time opt-in process within the app to use the streamlined security lanes for future travel.
To set up the feature, users must first create a digital ID pass within Google Wallet using their passport information. After checking in for a flight and saving the digital boarding pass to the app, eligible travellers will see a “Get started” prompt that directs them to the TSA enrollment page.
Once the user agrees to share their digital ID and boarding pass data with the TSA, the agency will verify the enrollment. A TSA PreCheck Touchless ID indicator will then appear directly on the Google Wallet boarding pass once the process pushes through successfully. The feature is scheduled to roll out to users over the coming weeks.
