At Google I/O 2025, Google announced new features for Google Wallet and Google Pay aimed at making digital payments and passes smarter and easier to use.
One of the standout updates is Nearby Passes notifications. This feature alerts you when you’re near a place where you can use a stored pass—like loyalty cards, event tickets, or boarding passes.
For example, if you’re close to a coffee shop, you’ll get a quick notification with one-tap access to your loyalty card. Users can turn these alerts on or off in the pass details or system settings.
Google Wallet also improves how passes display relevant offers and promotions, showing deals directly below the pass or in a fullscreen feed. This helps users discover extra benefits and encourages them to engage more with apps and websites.
For frequent flyers, Auto Linked Passes now let airlines automatically push boarding passes to your Wallet once you check in, making travel smoother.
Additionally, passes can now include a user profile picture, allowing for personalized digital business cards, membership cards, or event tickets. However, Google clarifies this cannot be used for official identity verification.
On the Google Pay side, the payment sheet you see in third-party apps during transactions has been redesigned with a sleek dark theme and richer card visuals, making it easier to pick the right card.
Google is also focusing heavily on Digital IDs with privacy in mind. Using Zero-Knowledge Proof technology, Google aims to enable age verification without linking back to personal identity.
This tech is being made open source and is already available on Android apps and mobile web, with desktop Chrome support in testing.
