5 Google Wallet features that go beyond tap-to-pay

Summary

Google Wallet goes beyond tap-to-pay and can store library cards, car keys, and boarding passes.
You can add your digital ID if you live in supported states, though it can’t completely replace a physical ID card.
Integrations with other Google services can help make Wallet work more smoothly, like automatically adding boarding passes found in Gmail.

As Google’s take on a digital wallet, Google Wallet covers all the basics you’d expect, letting you store credit and debit cards, and even car and hotel keys if you really want to. The most common use is as a simple tap-to-pay tool when you’re at a restaurant or store, but Google Wallet can do a lot more if you’re willing to do some setup.

The app wasn’t always Google’s main focus, but now it’s become a major part of how the tech giant expects people to use Android phones. With that in mind, here are six of Google Wallet’s features you likely aren’t using enough, that go beyond just paying for things, and turn the app into a one-stop identity and payment tool on your device.

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1 Store your driver’s license for identity verification

In states that support it, you’ll never have to reach for your wallet

An Android phone showing a Maryland license in Google Wallet.

Google / Pocket-lint

Like Apple Wallet, Google Wallet can technically securely store ID cards in a similar way to how it handles payment cards. The feature isn’t offered in every state, which is one of the main reasons it hasn’t caught up, but if your state supports the feature, it can be a handy backup for verifying your age or identity if you don’t want to reach for your wallet. The states that currently support IDs in Google Wallet are as follows:

Arizona
California
Colorado
Georgia
Maryland
New Mexico

Even if Google Wallet’s ID verification works well, it should never be a replacement for carrying your ID, especially when you’re dealing with law enforcement.

You can add your state ID or driver’s license to Google Wallet by uploading a scan of the front and back of your card and a scan of your face, directly from the app. It could take a little bit for your information to be processed, but once it is, you’ll have a digital representation of your card in the app. Where supported, you’ll be able to tap your phone to verify your identity in the same way you’d tap to pay.

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2 Convert physical library cards into digital ones

Any pass or card with a barcode can technically be added

Viewing scans of a library card in the Google Wallet app.

Like a real wallet, Google Wallet can store things that aren’t your ID or credit cards, too. As part of an update in 2023, Google made it a lot simpler to add things like gym passes, library cards, and basically anything else with simple barcodes, too. The process is similar to adding an ID. You scan the front and back of your card, and Google attempts to pull out the critical information to fill out a form that will essentially become your new card.

You’ll have the opportunity to edit any of the fields before setup is done, but once you’re satisfied, you’ll now have a new pass in your Google Wallet representing the card. To scan your pass, you just open Google Wallet and tap on it. The barcode will automatically be enlarged, and your screen brightness will be adjusted so that scanners can easily read it.

Showing off a scanned library card in Google Wallet.

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3 Double as your car keys

Google Wallet can create a copy of NFC keys

A walled filled with cards and a pair of keys next to an Android phone running Google Wallet.

Google / Pocket-lint

If you’re looking for a way to create a digital version of your car keys, and you have a modern car with an NFC-based key, you can create a duplicate in Google Wallet. The digital key exists alongside your passes, IDs, and cards and can be tapped onto the side of supported cars to instantly unlock them, just like you’d tap to pay. Apple Wallet has a similar feature, so Google Wallet isn’t unique, but it can be incredibly helpful if you’ve forgotten your car keys, or they’re buried deep in your bag.

Adding a car key has a similar setup process to adding an ID card, except you’ll have to tap your NFC key onto your phone so that it can recreate and save the pattern for later use. Once your key is in there, you’ll want to make sure you’ve secured your phone with whatever level of protection you’re comfortable with, whether it’s a fingerprint, face unlock, or pin.

An Android digital car key in Google Wallet beside someone dangling their car keys

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4 Have your boarding pass ready for flights

Tickets and boarding passes can even be added automatically

A boarding pass in the Google Wallet app.

If you’re looking for a way to keep track of tickets and boarding passes, Google Wallet has a solution for that too. Boarding passes can be added just by scanning them, if you’ve received one to print out or already checked in at an airport.

What makes Google Wallet unique is that, thanks to an integration with Gmail, boarding passes and tickets that are emailed to you can automatically be added to the Wallet app. That way you save some time and still have what you need. The feature has to be enabled in Gmail’s settings under “Smart features and personalization in other Google products.”

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5 Use gift cards without having to physically have your card

Gift cards can be added from select providers

A hand holding a Pixel 9 showing the gift card menu on Google Wallet.

It’s likely not surprising at this point, but gift cards can fit in your real wallet, so they can also fit in your Google Wallet. Unlike other options where Google Wallet scans the font and back of your phone to pull your account details, the variety of gift cards and gift card layouts means you have to enter your details manually. Once you do, though, the card should be able to be scanned like any other gift card.

It’s likely not surprising at this point, but gift cards can fit in your real wallet, so they can also fit in your Google Wallet.

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Google Wallet is the only digital wallet app you need on Android

Google’s ambitions around payments, digital wallets, and banking have fluctuated over the years, but the place Google Wallet is at now is a good one. As this list hopefully proves, it can do the vast majority of things you need from an identity and payment tool on your phone. If you’re curious about other Google apps that are hard to beat or need a list of apps to install on your Pixel phone, Pocket-lint has articles covering both.