The UK is set to introduce digital driving licences this year as the government looks to use technology to “transform public services”.
The digital version of driving licences will be available in a virtual wallet in a government app, instead of being added to existing Google or Apple wallets. It could be accepted as a form of ID when voting, purchasing alcohol, or boarding domestic flights.
While physical licences will still be issued and the new digital identities will not be mandatory, the government has said the move is part of their commitment to use technology to “make people’s lives easier and transform public services”.
A government spokesperson said: “Technology now makes it possible for digital identities to be more secure than physical ones, but we remain clear that they will not be made mandatory.”
The virtual wallet is understood to have security measures similar to many banking apps, and only owners of respective licenses will be able to access it through inbuilt security features in smartphones, such as biometrics and multi-factor authentication.
The voluntary digital option is set to be introduced later this year, according to the Times. Possible features include allowing users to hide their addresses in certain situations, such as in bars or shops, and using virtual licenses for age verification at supermarket self-checkouts.
The government is said to be considering integrating other services into the app, such as tax payments, benefits claims and other forms of identification such as national insurance numbers, but will stop short of introducing compulsory national ID cards, which were pushed for by former prime minister Tony Blair and William Hague.
At the time, privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch called the potential move “one of the biggest assaults on privacy ever seen in the UK”.
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Nearly 50 million Britons have either a provisional or full driving licence. Similar initiatives already exist in Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. And by 2026, the European Union is requiring members states to develop at least one form of official digital identity by 2026, which could then be accepted across the bloc.
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