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The Sydney Morning Herald reports that two Australian States now allow citizens to choose to have a licence issued in digital format and have it displayed on their smartphones.
New South Wales citizens are now finally able to display their driver's licence on their phones and use it as a form of ID at licenced premises.
But if you have a cracked screen, it may not get accepted because a clear screen is required for it to be used as valid ID; your phone must also be fully charged so that you can show your licence.
[...] The Service NSW app, which enables people to display their ID on iPhone and Android smartphones, was updated about 12pm on Monday for all NSW citizens to add their driver's licence.
Until now, only about 20,000 citizens in trial areas that included Sydney's eastern suburbs, Albury, and Dubbo were able to make use of a digital driver's licence.
[...] "Always carry your plastic card if you know you're going to need your driver licence, or if you plan to travel interstate. Ensure your phone screen is not cracked and your phone is charged," Service NSW warns. "It ... may take some time before all organisations will be ready to accept" the digital app.
While the licence is expected to be accepted at most venues, the state government is reminding people to still carry their plastic card "to avoid inconvenience", as some venues in NSW or other states and countries may not accept it as a valid form of ID.It's also reminding people to not use their phones while driving or riding when asked for ID and that you do not have to hand over your unlocked phone in order for it to be verified by people such as security guards or police officers.
"You don't have to hand over your phone. You may be asked to refresh your licence, by pulling down and releasing," the Service NSW app says.
Anyone want to put more information on their phone?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @06:04AM (3 children)
Heed the experience of this woman who used ApplePay to buy an electronic bus ticket and then had to go to court because her battery died. [ft.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @02:27PM (2 children)
As much of a pain in the ass that I'm sure the scenario was, the real problems for the author of the article started when she failed to turn up to her scheduled court appearance, and was judged in absentia. This seems like a really poor decision on the part of the author, and given that she won on appeal, she probably would have avoided all the subsequent hassle had she bothered to show up in the first place.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @03:27PM (1 child)
It sounds like she didn't get the letter notifying her of the hearing. That sort of thing should require personal service because the mail just isn't 100% reliable. I know this because in my business I send out a lot of checks to people and invariably, once a month or so a check goes missing. I find out because the client calls and asks where the check they were expecting is at, and then we have to go through a stop payment/reissue process. If the person had not been expecting mail then they'd never know it went missing.
Anyway, fuck this idea of one's phone becoming a digital wallet/filing cabinet of some sort. More and more I just carry a bit of cash with me so I can avoid the whole data slurping rat race.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 29 2019, @10:13PM
She was clearly at least aware that there proceedings against her and the judgement would have included evidence that she was properly served (but OK, maybe it didn't, the decision was overturned on appeal and improper service could have been the reason).
But anyay, I looked at the article again and everything that happened after the conviction before it was overturned also was a problem entirely of her own making.
* She required an "I" class visa [state.gov] for her trip to the United States, which she did not yet have.
* She booked a £1000 non-refundable, non-changeable flight to the United States on May 4.
* She began the visa application process on or after April 26, leaving just 8 days to receive the visa.
* She did not have sufficient funds to eat the £1000 cost and book new flights, if that turned out to be necessary (it was).
I'm not sure what typical timelines are for United States visa applications (I've never applied for one) but 8 days is a ridiculously aggressive timetable for a visa application in general, my experience with other countries is that 3 weeks is typical. It's frankly no wonder the agent told her "there was no way [she] would be travelling to the US on May 4". Incidentally the visa was granted (but it took *drumroll* 3 weeks), so the conviction obviously had no bearing whatsoever on her admissibility to the United States. The decision to book non-refundable non-exchangeable flights knowing that you lack required travel documents is crazy because if you don't get the documents issued in time you are fucked. Sorry, that was her own poor decision, and the consequences should have been obvious.