Our clients often come to us to help them with an outdated or problematic business process and believe the solution…
LA Wallet
Origins of LA Wallet
LA Wallet became possible because Louisiana State Representative Ted James of Baton Rouge had the foresight to put the wheels in motion. In 2016, Representative James’s HB 481 passed in the Louisiana Legislature under Act 625 allowing Louisiana to be the first state to offer a digital driver’s license. Chad Lacour approached Envoc about partnering to create the digital license app and Calvin Fabre, Envoc’s Founder and CEO, was immediately on board and began working with state officials to make LA Wallet a reality. While the Louisiana Legislature is great at passing laws, the State needed Envoc’s expertise to create the technology to house the digital driver’s license. Over two years, Envoc partnered with Chad Lacour and state officials to make LA Wallet Louisiana’s, and the United States’, first fully functioning digital driver’s license.
LA Wallet: First DDL in the Nation
July 3, 2018
Everyone at Envoc was eager to work on this project because we knew it was a unique opportunity for both Envoc and the State of Louisiana. Our first priority was to build a secure app that protected an individual’s rights and personal information. Envoc mobile developers worked closely with the OMV and Louisiana State officials to understand identification credential laws and security components. The Louisiana State Police stipulated that there should be a “no-touch” policy; at no time should an officer take possession of a citizen’s mobile device. This policy would not only protect from unlawful searches and seizures but would also protect a citizen’s personal property when presenting their digital driver’s license to anyone other than law enforcement. The iOS & Android apps were developed in parallel with the intention of launching them at the same time. The first milestone was finding a way for the app to display the high-resolution digital license securely without requiring a network connection. LA Wallet does not simply display an image of a physical Louisiana license. Instead, it obtains several image components and all license data from the OMV to create a unique high-resolution rendering of a Louisiana driver’s license. Once a user initially retrieves their license information with a network connection, the app securely stores the digital license to enable use even without a network connection. However, the app informs the user that the information may potentially be out-of-date.LA Wallet also required anti-forgery precautions, much like the holograms and hidden identifiers that protect physical licenses from being counterfeited. The “No Touch” requirements dictated by State Police provided the team with an opportunity to create a simple yet effective touch-activated security feature. When requested to do so, a citizen can press and hold to display a security seal to validate authenticity.
Once all legal and technical components were built and tested by our team, we moved into a closed pilot where over 100 people tested the app on both the iOS and Android platforms for several weeks. After the pilot, we were certain LA Wallet would not only be the first operational digital driver’s license in the US, but it would be a truly exceptional app.
Just in time for the Fourth of July in 2018, Governor John Bel Edwards announced the launch of LA Wallet to the residents of Louisiana. As the first digital driver’s license, LA Wallet has received local and national media coverage, and we have heard from many eager residents who were excited to use their digital license.
Envoc Innovates VerifyYou™
August 16, 2018
While the LA Wallet digital driver’s license and ID offers multiple validation options, Calvin challenged the mobile development team to provide users with a real-time verification process. Just a month after the initial launch of LA Wallet, the team created and implemented VerifyYou™. Visual verification is subject to human error, but with VerifyYou™, the presenter’s credential is scanned through the LA Wallet app and validated directly by the OMV database. VerifyYou™ displays a picture of the presenter with an overlay of a randomized QR code that changes every second. The presenter can choose to share their license number, age, and name, but the system will always share the user’s portrait and valid or invalid status of the credential.Another LA Wallet user can scan the QR code and within seconds they will receive the presenter’s information. The VerifyYou™ system is a helpful tool for individuals who regularly check driver’s licenses and IDs for age verification, car service drivers and clients, and many other situations.
LA Wallet Accepted for Voting
October 26, 2018
Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced that Louisiana residents can use LA Wallet as their official identification when voting.ATC Approves LA Wallet
January 28, 2019
The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco (ATC) authorized retailers and establishments to accept LA Wallet when verifying age and identity.VerifyYou™ Pro and Home Delivery
August 30, 2019
Once the Louisiana ATC announced that LA Wallet can be accepted for age-restricted purchases, the LA Wallet team worked with Louisiana State lawmakers to allow businesses to offer age-restricted home-delivery. The key to this new opportunity for Louisiana businesses was the ability to track and keep a record of license/ID verifications during deliveries. Envoc developers utilized the VerifyYou™ system to allow businesses to identify delivery personnel through an internet portal. Businesses do not have to purchase new equipment because employees can use their own smartphones or tablets. Once a delivery employee is added to the system, they can toggle between personal use and VerifyYou™ Pro in the LA Wallet app scanner. When someone makes a delivery, they can scan an LA Wallet VerifyYou™ or the AAMVA code on the back of physical licenses/IDs. The VerifyYou™ Pro system scans and validates the customer’s license/ID verifies age, and records the scan, verification, and employee in the internet portal. All verifications are completed in real-time and are time-stamped to comply with ATC regulations. VerifyYou™ Pro has been adopted by companies across Louisiana and has helped businesses increase revenue while also staying ATC-compliant.In-App Renewal and Notifications
April 3, 2020
In order to help mitigate disruptions to the Office of Motor Vehicles caused by the 2020 quarantine, Envoc developers worked around the clock to offer Louisiana residents an easy option for license and ID renewal. Envoc mobile developers created and launched the in-app license and ID renewal function in two weeks despite the initial six to eight-month estimate. While the initial renewal process is completed through the LA Wallet app, LA Wallet links to the OMV’s payment portal, much like other Louisiana OMV online payments. The LA Wallet app never processes or stores the user’s payment information. Along with the new renewal feature, LA Wallet now offers push notifications that alert Louisiana license/ID holders who are eligible to renew online that their credential is set to expire in 90, 30, 7 days, and day of. Additionally, LA Wallet users will receive important alerts from Governor John Bel Edwards and other state agencies. Both new features are a first for LA Wallet but definitely not the last innovation for the nation’s first DDL.500,000 Residents on LA Wallet
June 1, 2020
Over half a million Louisiana residents have activated their LA Wallet digital licenses or IDs.
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