The EU Digital Wallet: what stage is the project at now?

Piloting the EU Digital Wallet: take a glimpse into the future of Digital Identity

The EU Wallet really got started in June 2021 when the Commission proposed a framework for a new European digital identity platform. The proposal amended the existing 2014 eIDAS to eIDAS 2. In 2023, the Council presidency and European Parliament reached agreement on this new framework.

In the current pre-launch stage stakeholders are working hard to research the potential use cases for the wallet, explore how the tech will work and refine what the user experience will look like.  That process took a big leap forward in May 2023, when the EU announced four large-scale pilot projects. These pilots involve approximately 360 entities, including private companies and public authorities from 26 member states, Norway, Iceland, and Ukraine. They are scheduled to continue until 2025.

The four pilots are as follows:

1.  POTENTIAL 
   The project is looking at the experience across six digital identity sectors — governmental services, banking, telecommunications, mobile driving licences, electronic signatures, and health. 
    
2.  NOBID 
   Exploring the development of the wallet for authorising payments across Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Latvia, Germany and Italy. 
    
3. The EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium (EWC) 
   This pilot tests uses related to digital travel credentials. 
    
4.  DC4EU 
   Focused on educational and social security sectors and the potential for interoperable, cross-border service.
   These projects are now under way, supported by some of the world’s foremost multinationals. Thales is part of both the Potential and the NOBID consortia.
   
   In its work on Potential, Thales is leveraging its expertise in digital security. Specifically, it is focusing on the secure element in the smartphone to ensure maximum security for the wallet. As part of NOBID, Thales is in charge of adapting the open source EU digital ID Wallet reference app to payment use cases.
   
   For all stakeholders, the objective of the four pilots is to test the EU Wallet across a range of everyday scenarios, and gather feedback on features such as security, interoperability, and overall design. Specifically, they have already started to explore 11 use cases.

These are:

• Accessing government services 
  Such as applying for a passport, filing taxes, or accessing social security information.
   
• Opening a bank account 
  Secure verification of a user's identity when opening an online account.
   
• Registering a SIM 
  Proving identity when on-boarding pre and post-paid SIM card contracts.
   
• Using a mobile driving licence 
  Accessing and presenting a mobile driving licence. This is part of the EU’s plan, with a dedicated EU directive revealed in December 2023, to give all drivers a mobile licence, which can be used in online and offline scenarios. 
   
• Signing contracts 
  Creating secure digital signatures for signing contracts online.
   
• Claiming Prescriptions 
  Providing details to a pharmacist.
   
• Travelling 
  Presenting travel documents online and at airport security/customs.
   
• Proving organisational identities 
  Showing proof that a person is a legitimate representative of an organisation.
   
• Making payments 
  Proving identity when paying online.
   
• Acquiring an educational certification 
  Accessing digital versions of diplomas, degrees etc.
   
• Accessing state benefits 
  Acquiring and storing documents such as the European Health Insurance Card that speed up access to government support. 

The above pilots illustrate the EU's commitment to the digital identity project. They provide a giant laboratory where all stakeholders can learn and share best practice. And in May 2024, the EU revealed that it would inject a further 20 million euros into its pilot programs targeting business, payment and banking, travel and age verification. The new round of grants focuses on improving technical specifications and implementation guidelines for the wallet.

Just three years after the EU announced its ambitions for a digital wallet, the scheme is progressing fast. By 2027, citizens should have the opportunity to store secure and unique digital versions of their identity, passports, driving licences, diplomas, prescriptions and more.