Last year's I/O conference saw the return of Google Wallet, which separated from Google Pay to become a standalone app that stores credit cards, government IDs, rewards cards, passes, car keys, and other items. However, Google wants the service to be much more than just a place to store these kinds of cards. The company is now marketing Wallet as a one-stop shop for storing government-issued IDs and passes that were previously difficult to save in the app.

Perhaps the headlining feature being added to Wallet is the ability to import a barcode or QR code from passes like loyalty or gym membership cards and create a digital version of them in Wallet. You only need to take a picture of any card containing a barcode or a QR code to convert it into a digital pass. That said, Google didn't say when this feature would go live and only stated in a blog post that it was coming soon.

Google has also been working on adding more digital IDs and driver's licenses to Wallet through a beta test that kicked off in Maryland late last year. The beta period has now ended, and if you live in that state, you'll be able to use your state-issued ID at TSA PreCheck lines at selected airports. However, it's not clear when this feature will be widely rolled out. Later this year, digital IDs can be used to book a car and verify online accounts.

You'll also be able to save your health insurance cards in Wallet soon thanks to a partnership between Humana and Google. If you live in the UK, you can store your National Insurance Number in Wallet via the His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) app. These cards will bear a "private pass" label since they contain sensitive information. This also means you'll need to use your fingerprint or PIN each time you want to view and use these cards.

For Google Messages users who prefer text messaging as the method for receiving boarding passes and train tickets, the search giant will soon let them save those passes to Wallet. Vietnam Airlines and Renfe, Spain's train operator, will be the first to use the feature.

Later this year, Google will add corporate badges to Wallet to provide a new way for employees to access their workplace. Google also plans to expand Wallet to more markets in the next few weeks.

Most of these new features have already been available on Apple's Wallet app for quite some time, so Google may have some catching up to do.