Digital wallets are quickly becoming an essential part of our daily lives, from making quick payments to storing tickets and boarding passes.
According to PYMNTS, 74% of travelers consider a digital wallet essential for travel. Wealthy travelers prefer to transact using digital wallets 83% of the time, while Millennials prefer 82%. When it comes to travel, the benefits and convenience of digital wallets go beyond direct spending.
The convenience of digital wallet platforms provided by Apple and Google has made consumers more comfortable using this technology. As digital wallets become more popular, travel should become smoother.
“International standards bodies have been able to assist the travel industry with digital identity standards to provide travelers with a faster, safer, and smoother travel experience, compared to physical documents such as passports and boarding passes. “Instead of having to present an ID, digital ID and biometrics speed up the process at every touchpoint, from check-in to border control,” said Jeremy Springall, senior vice president at SITA at Borders. I am.
Darrell O’Donnell, executive director of the Global Acceptance Network (GAN), believes digital wallets will be most useful if the sector integrates different travel systems. “My life would be a lot easier if I could just say, ‘Hello, I’m checking in. Here’s my benefit number,’ and everything connected seamlessly,” he said.
While this prospect is appealing, you should check your membership credentials. O’Donnell explained that GAN is working to “set the conditions” for data exchange and allow “different wallets to work together” to simplify the process for users and businesses.
Standards and interoperability
Travel service providers want to be sure they are communicating with legitimate customers, and customers need to know they are sharing their data with a trusted provider. This two-way security is essential, especially given the number of fake travel sites that pop up online during times of travel disruption.
O’Donnell said GAN’s plan is to verify user identity and provide a trusted exchange for users to verify vendors and support multiple ecosystems in travel, including airlines, hotels, tour operators and loyalty programs. The aim is to integrate these services and at the same time ensure the privacy and security of travelers. data exchange.
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Without a common framework, travelers could face a fragmented system where digital wallets work in one country but not another. GANs hope to address this gap by creating a new digital layer that will become a “DNS for trust.” This is a concept similar to Domain Name System (DNS) on the web, which connects a domain name to an IP address to verify that the site is what it claims to be. GANs connect digital identities and data, but they require opening up data silos among travel service providers who are reluctant to share the customer information they hold.
At this stage, the focus is on establishing standards and ensuring interoperability of multiple travel systems and digital wallets. SITA’s Springall said: “It is important to ensure that digital ID solutions work with airlines, airports and border authorities around the world. Standardization efforts will help create a consistent experience for travelers.”
digital identity
Gartner predicts that by 2026, at least 500 million smartphone users will use digital identity wallets to regularly make verifiable claims. In SITA’s recent Passenger IT Survey, 44% of travelers said they were very satisfied with storing their digital passport on their phone in a secure digital wallet. This is slightly higher than the 39% who are very comfortable sharing their digital ID and biometrics before traveling to simplify travel.
The identity verification required for travel poses challenges that European Union regulations aim to solve. For example, a traveler may not want everyone in the travel service chain to have access to his or her passport. The EU’s digital wallet system has built-in digital ID functionality, allowing users to share only the data needed for a particular service.
Annette Steenburgen, an adviser to the EU’s Digital Wallet Consortium, said the EU’s digital wallet initiative follows eIDAS (electronic identification, authentication and trust services) regulations. It aims to ensure that digital wallets are interoperable across the European Economic Area. This regulation is critical to ensuring that digital wallets are not only widely accepted, but also secure and privacy compliant. He said he would not rely on Apple and Google’s wallets as they are not considered sufficient to ensure that the device owner also owns the identity data. Instead, EU member states will have their own digital wallets.
“The fact that your personally identifying data is issued by the government means it is locked in with the highest level of assurance. No other authority can give you this with more confidence.” said Steenburgen.
Challenges remain to make digital identity a truly seamless part of travel. Even when digital IDs are available, many countries still require a physical passport to cross their borders.
“We are at a point where you can check into a hotel from your couch, share your check-in credentials digitally, and have your room key pushed into your wallet before you arrive. It will be a while before we can travel without one,” Steenburgen said.
Enhanced security and control
One of the main benefits of an EU digital wallet is that it gives travelers greater control over their data.
“We only share what we need to share in order to receive a particular service. This is called zero-knowledge proof or selective disclosure, and it helps ensure that the other party only gets the information they are authorized to have. ,” Steenburgen said.
Government agencies and airlines may need access to passport details to verify travel authorization, while other services may only receive confirmations necessary for their services.
Steenburgen also believes that this wallet will impact not only travel but all digital aspects of life.
“Not only to log in to government services, but also to receive educational certificates, health insurance cards, e-prescriptions, train cards, and driver’s licenses,” she says.
Collaboration between governments and the private sector, such as airlines, airports and technology providers, is also important, according to Springall.
The path for blockchain and digital identity is unclear
Blockchain may help establish a source of truth, but experts are divided on the technology’s value for this purpose. O’Donnell said blockchain is just one potential tool in this process, as not all GAN members rely on blockchain technology.
“You could use blockchain, but the key is to know the verifiable credentials. We issue the credentials, and you can use them later with the verifier,” he said. Said.
Steenburgen does not believe that blockchain plays a role in the EU’s digital identity, believing that blockchain and identity are “kind of at opposite ends of the spectrum.”
“Blockchain is writing something in stone, and that conflicts with privacy, especially the right to be forgotten,” she says.
Meanwhile, Springall believes blockchain can be beneficial.
“Blockchain has several core enablers that bring tremendous benefits to digital wallet and digital identity standards around the world: No personal information is stored outside of a traveler’s mobile device. Distributed ledger technology ( DLT) and governance provide secure controls to ensure the sharing of personal information is verifiable, powered by Hyperledger, a government-level trust network, in collaboration with our partner Indicio. Combined with authentic credentials, we ensure the validity of your personal information and ensure the security of your digital identity at every point in the transaction.”
Digital wallet while traveling
Some airports and airlines have already successfully implemented digital ID systems. Springall points to Frankfurt Airport as a prime example, where SITA’s Smart Path facial recognition system reduced passenger processing time by 30%.
“Faced with increasing passenger numbers and space constraints, Frankfurt turned to SITA’s Smart Pass as a facial recognition solution at every passenger touchpoint,” he said.
In Aruba, SITA partnered with the government to develop the Aruba Happy One Pass (AHOP), which leverages ICAO Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) to enable contactless travel.
“Aruba has enhanced the travel experience by enabling faster, safer and contactless travel and allowing travelers to receive border control pre-approval before leaving home.”Spring Orr said.
According to Steenburgen, the EU’s digital wallet initiative is also considering travel applications.
“Currently, four consortia are running large-scale pilots in the EU. We are only halfway through, testing travel use cases such as hotel check-in, ferry tickets, and plane boarding. ” she said.
The future of digital wallets in travel
Realizing the full potential of digital wallets in travel will require continued collaboration between public and private stakeholders.
“Being authentic comes first and everything is about knowing exactly that I’m talking to you, not someone pretending to be you.” ,” O’Donnell said.
This level of trust is essential to fostering widespread adoption. The law also needs to catch up.
“Technically all of this can be done, but legally it must be verified. The problem is that current laws often still specify that travel documents must be physically inspected. That’s it,” Steenburgen said.
How soon will we be able to travel without a passport? She suggests it may be a while yet. “The EU was the first regional intergovernmental body to develop this law, but will we one day be able to use this law when traveling to Brazil or Japan? We don’t know yet.”
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