Across the European Union, people are now using their phones for banking, travel and government services. The European Digital Identity Wallet will bring these services together in one app, and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) published the first standards supporting it.
EU Digital Identity Wallet What does it do?
The Digital Identity Wallet will allow EU citizens and residents to prove their identity and share specific characteristics, such as their age, a diploma or a license. It will work in government services, healthcare, banking, travel, education and other sectors. Each EU member state will offer at least one Digital Identity Wallet to its users, and the wallets will be connected to both public and private services.
Users will connect to online services with Wallet using a set of credentials. They will be able to store and manage official digital documents, share verified information such as a diploma or license, and sign documents with legally binding electronic signatures.
Privacy and security
The wallets will use strong cryptography and implement data minimization, so they only share the information required for a given service. They are designed to work the same way across Europe, allowing a wallet issued in one country to work in another.
What do the first standards cover?
The first version contains over 24 technical specifications. They cover a wallet-specific attestation profile, certificate policies, and trust list formats. They also cover remote signing protocols, identity verification, and long-term data retention.
“Our goal is to make digital interactions across Europe as easy and reliable as possible, whether you are travelling, studying, working or accessing online services. ETSI has a long experience in electronic signatures, cybersecurity and trust management. Digital wallets are at the crossroads of these technologies,” said Nick Pope, Chair of ETSI’s Electronic Signatures and Trust Infrastructures Committee.
Pilot programs are already underway
The wallet is being tested in large-scale pilots covering government services, businesses, banking, vehicle registration and travel. The project is part of a wider European effort supported by the European Commission and the European Economic Area.
Planned works until 2027
ETSI's ESI Technical Committee will continue this work through 2026 and 2027. It plans to transform the technical specifications into European Standards, incorporate feedback from large-scale pilots and early deployments, create interoperability and conformance testing frameworks, and add standards for more wallet components.
The plan is for each of the approximately 450 million citizens of the European Union to have access to a wallet.
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