Back at Google I/O 2024 we heard about plans to expand the capabilities of the Google Wallet app on Android so that users could manage and access many more types of documents – and now we've got a better idea about how it's going to work.
Thanks to some code digging by the team at Android Authority, we can see how additional types of documents can be scanned in, processed, and then stored in Google Wallet. These files will apparently be stored in an 'everything else' section.
These new document types are basically anything that's text only: insurance papers, a library card, a concert ticket, a student ID, or a resident's permit, for example. You'll be able to store these documents digitally for safekeeping.
As with everything else at the moment, AI is involved of course – Google says AI is used to identify the document type, and convert the image into text where necessary. You'll need to agree to this scanning step before documents can be imported.
Document categories
Once you're into the main part of the process, you can opt to store documents in two categories: normal and private. Additional biometric authentication, such as a fingerprint scan, will be needed to access anything in the private folder.
Multiple types of documents, including business cards and driver licenses, can be identified automatically by Google Wallet. Anything that can't be recognized is classed as 'other', and you can identify it manually if you need to.
There's also the option to add additional information to any document, if it's needed – for example, if you need to store details or a description alongside something you've scanned, but which isn't included in the actual scan itself.
Based on the screenshots and video provided by Android Authority, it seems like this will be a useful upgrade for Google Wallet. These features aren't live in the Android app just yet, but it shouldn't be too long before they arrive.
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