Last updated on March 19th, 2024 at 03:15 pm

If Iowa’s bold new plans for an all-digital driver’s license app are any indication, soon all personal transactions may be made directly from phone-to-phone.

Iowa transportation officials released a plan last week to offer digital driver’s licenses to Iowans.

According to The Des Moines Register, the free digital ID app will be accepted during police traffic stops and at security checkpoints in Iowa’s airports. While the app probably won’t be available until 2016, Iowa would be the first state to offer its people a digital option for their state ID. Although these new IDs will prove to be convenient, the state will continue to issue traditional plastic driver’s licenses for those who want them.

Following the release of the iPhone payment system Apple Pay in October, a digital license could be another step toward a wallet-less future.

In the past three years, more than 30 US states have begun accepting digital proof of insurance at traffic stops. Insurance companies such as Geico and esurance now have their own apps to make it simple for drivers to show police officers their proof of insurance.

Passports for countries around the world, while still a paper document, have a digital element. Many now come with an electronic chip containing personal data printed in the passport. The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization reports that 100 countries are currently issuing chip-based passports, and most countries have e-passport readers.

At IDscan.net, we support any innovation that takes an otherwise time-consuming process and simplifies it to an easy-to-use, fast, and efficient solution. Our ID scanning app VeriScan was the first DL scanner for iOS and Android and brought a new level of mobility and simplicity to the ID scanning industry. It will maintain 100% compatibility even as states transition to these new digital IDs. We hope to see great things from this new ID medium and will keep you updated every step of the way.