Apps beat paper cards every time
By Lethbridge Herald on September 5, 2025.
Al Beeber
Leave It To Beeber
The provincial government recently launched what it calls the “Alberta Wallet,” a cellphone app that allows us to store a digital version of our health card.
Available on the app stores, this wallet is for me a revelation. And it may be as well for others who either never got their paper health card laminated or who have had to replace it because of wear and tear.
And anyone who has ever accidentally left a wallet in a load of laundry knows the horror of seeing soaked and wrecked cards of any kind after a full cycle.
In these eyes with their 20/20 vision, this wallet is a fantastic idea with so much potential. Digital wallets aren’t new – we can store different cards of numerous sorts on them but to have a card of such vital importance as the Alberta health one at hand without having to dig through compartments of a wallet to drag out a ratty, worn one is just awesome. Apps such as PC Optimum, Air Miles, Canadian Tire, Starbucks and various airlines can be stored in a wallet, for instance.
Digital access isn’t just for apps, either. My insurance company offers a digital proof of insurance card which I’m thinking could be handy, as well. But I still keep paper versions in my vehicle just to be safe.
With the number of cards that a person can carry – my bulky wallet* crammed with cards and old lottery tickets used to be the brunt of jokes when I’d get together with friends – digital ways of storing information can simplify daily life.For example, I’ve got three or four Starbucks cards with various amounts in my wallet and a couple of Tim Hortons cards, too. And there are a couple of fast food ones with probably minimal amounts buried in the wallet, too.
So having the digital health card at hand if I need it for visits to the doctor, pharmacy or ER should I fall off the roof fixing that leaky gutter eventually is potentially beneficial.
Hopefully, the government will also at some point add our driver’s licences to the wallet, as well. And the province says more documents are to come.
The wallet is a way of digital decluttering and I’m all for that. Alberta, in fact, is the first province in Canada to introduce a digital wallet. I’m told by a friend in Ontario that plans to develop digital health cards and drivers licences have been delayed and another pal in Manitoba told me that province this year just started issuing plastic health cards.
So we’re ahead of the game in Alberta and it’s going to be interesting to see what innovations the province has coming down the road. Digitization is here and it’s the future and in terms of providing residents with convenience of having digital documents, Alberta is leading the way.
Now to find a Starbucks card with more than $2 dollars left on it for my post-gym caffeine boost – eenie, meenie, minie, mo. . .forget it, I’m sure there’s a toonie or four underneath my driver’s seat. Or maybe in the dryer!
*Editor’s note: As a long-time colleague, I can confirm the truly spine-bending thickness of Al’s wallet. Anything that reduces that is a welcome innovation.
14-13
I laminated my health card about 15 yr ago after moving to Alberta. It’s still like new and I don’t need any more of my private info on electronic devices for possible theft. Smith must have really worked hard to mangle the card in their picture. If someone wants to have any cards on their phone just take a picture on your phone. Govt needs to give business to a supporters software company and spend unknown amount of taxpayers money on a platform that will likely be hacked or fail some time in the future.