BC Wallet
Last updated on August 14, 2024BC Wallet is a smartphone app. It lets you receive, store and present digital credentials such as permits, certifications, and licenses offered by participating services.
On this page:
- What is BC Wallet
- How BC Wallet works
- Where to use
- Benefits
- Get the BC Wallet app
- Accessibility
- Help and user guides
What is BC Wallet
BC Wallet is a digital wallet app for your smartphone or tablet that stores your digital credentials. You then use your digital credentials to prove something about yourself or your business to both public or private organizations, in a secure and privacy preserving way.
While BC Wallet is available in app stores, most people will not have a need for BC Wallet right now. It does not support credentials that work in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
The technology behind digital credentials has been used since 2019 in OrgBook BC, a searchable list of organizations in British Columbia.
How BC Wallet works
Here’s a simplified version of the typical process.
2. Add your digital credentials
Participating services will offer you digital credentials to add to your BC Wallet.
3. Use your digital credentials
Participating services will request information from your digital credentials.
Where to use
BC Wallet and digital credentials are currently used in the following areas:
Lawyers who are verified by the Law Society of British Columbia can receive a digital Member Credential that proves they are a lawyer in good standing.
Access to Court Materials
With their Member Credential and their Person credential, lawyers can better serve their clients and save time by skipping the courthouse and accessing court materials online offered by Court Services Branch.
Remote access to subscription databases
Through Courthouse Libraries BC lawyers can remotely access an online library including Irwin Law, Rangefindr and HeinOnline, without creating a CLBC account.
Learn more about the digital credentials project for lawyers in B.C.
Sole proprietors who are verified by logging into BC Registries with their BC Service Card app can receive a Digital Business Card to represent their business and apply for business licenses and permits with municipalities in BC.
It will also open the door for interacting with the banking industry.
The future of BC Wallet
Potential uses of BC Wallet are growing. We work with organizations to understand if digital credentials and BC Wallet are the best solution that meets their needs. For example, not needing to stand in line at a service office and instead providing digital credentials online to complete an application quicker.
Benefits
A long-term objective of BC Wallet is to help British Columbians feel more confident when they interact online.
Here are some of the benefits of BC Wallet.
Confidentiality
No one, other than the party you're interacting with, knows when or how you're using BC Wallet.
This confidentiality is a core part of the technology behind BC Wallet.
Instant verification
No one can tamper with your information in the wallet.
- The place accepting your digital credentials can be confident that your information is legitimate
- They can trust it came from the right organization without having to contact them
- This could dramatically reduce the time to complete processes and forms
Ease of adoption
Digital credential technology is easy to adopt by any organizations, businesses, or governments. This will let you use it in more places in the future.
More control over personal information
With BC Wallet, you approve every use of your digital credentials.
- You can share individual pieces of information from your digital credentials, rather than the entire thing
- It's possible to prove things about yourself without providing the information itself
- For example, you could prove you're over 19 without providing your actual date of birth
Get the BC Wallet app
The app is available for Android and iOS on smartphones.
Accessibility
BC Wallet is committed to ensure that everyone is able to use the app with a smartphone or tablet. It is designed to be as simple and easy to use as possible.
BC Wallet works with:
- Screen readers such as VoiceOver or TalkBack
- Voice control
- Zoom and enlarge text
- Multiple languages
- Tablets in both portrait or landscape mode
- Most built-in accessibility options on your smartphone or tablet
Help and user guides
- Set up your BC Wallet
- Adding digital credentials
- Using your digital credentials
- Digital credentials technology (Verifiable Credentials or VCs) on the Digital Trust website
- Privacy policy
- Contact us