EU Digital Identity Wallet Pilot implementation

EU Digital Identity Wallets

The EU Digital Identity Wallet is designed as a convenient and secure method for European citizens and businesses to authenticate their identity, using their digital ID for both public and private sector interactions. Users can store various digital documents within the wallet, ranging from academic credentials to transportation passes, and use it for signing into private platforms, such as social networks. This approach is more secure and user-friendly than managing numerous passwords.

With a single click, individuals can confidently transmit specific information to verified entities, disclosing only necessary details - like age or nationality -, while withholding additional personal data. This minimizes the risk of personal profiling and grants users sovereignty over personal information, a feat unattainable with tangible documents.

The EU Digital Identity Wallet will facilitate the exchange of information within an individual’s home EU nation, and across other member states. 

In 2023, the European Union initiated four major pilot programs to evaluate the EU Digital Identity Wallet prior to its official introduction to the Member States. Four Large-scale pilot projects are collecting feedback on the requirements for the EU Digital Identity Wallet and help for develop the Common Toolbox and ensure a secure deployment. 

Wallet Prototype

The Commission will provide a prototype of the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) conformant to the requirements of the European Digital Identity Regulation. The prototype was procured under the Digital Europe Programme, and includes code libraries and a sample application. It serves as a testing ground, allowing for the refinement and validation of specifications outlined in the Architecture and Reference Framework.

A series of Large-Scale Pilots spanning various sectors - including, financial services, education, and transportation -, offer invaluable insights and provide feedback about the wallet's real-world functionality and usability. The EU Digital Identity Wallet open-source nature ensures that thoroughly vetted resources will be accessible to the public, allowing Member States and interested parties to develop their own digital wallet. 

An initial version of the reference implementation is available on Github, together with the Architecture and Reference Framework.

Large Scale Pilots

In May 2023, four large-scale pilot projects were launched with the aim of testing the EU Digital Identity Wallet and ensure its secure and smooth deployment. These pilots involve approximately 360 entities, including private companies and public authorities from 26 Member States, Norway, Iceland, and Ukraine. Each pilot is structured as a consortium that merges expertise from both the public and private sectors within the EU, with co-funding provided by grants from the European Commission. The pilots are guided by the technical specifications developed by the eIDAS Expert Group. These pilot projects are scheduled to continue until the year 2025.

The pilots are rigorously testing the EU Digital Identity Wallet across a range of common scenarios that Europeans encounter in their daily lives. They are also collecting feedback on the wallet’s reference implementation. The insights from these tests will be disseminated to enhance the security, interoperability, and overall design of the EU Digital Identity Wallet.

The four large-scale pilot projects:

• The EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium (EWC) is a joint effort to leverage the benefits of the proposed EU digital identity in the form of Digital Travel Credentials across the Member States. The EWC intends to build on the reference wallet application to enable uses related to Digital Travel Credentials.
• POTENTIAL aims to foster innovation, collaboration and growth in six digital identity sectors — governmental services, banking, telecommunications, mobile driving licenses, electronic signatures, and health.
• NOBID is a set of Nordic and Baltic countries who, together with Italy and Germany, will pilot the use of the EU Digital Identity Wallet for authorising payments of products and services.
• DC4EU provides tangible support to the public and private sectors in the educational and social security sectors by deploying and accessing state-of-the-art trans-European interoperable digital service infrastructures and their integration in a cross-border trust framework.

Specifically, the pilots are exploring how the digital wallet can provide solutions in these 11 areas:

1. Accessing government services: Secure access to digital public services, such as applying for a passport or driver's license, filing taxes, or accessing social security information.
2. Opening a bank account: Verification of a user's identity when opening an online bank account, eliminating the need for the user to repeatedly provide their personal information
3. SIM Registration: Proof of identity for the purpose of pre- and post-paid SIM card contracts (registration and activation), reducing fraud and costs for mobile network operators.
4. Mobile Driving License: The storage and presentation of the mobile driving license in both online and physical interactions such a driver providing their license on the side of the road.
5. Signing contracts: Creating secure digital signatures for signing contracts online, eliminating the need for paper documents and physical signatures.
6. Claiming Prescriptions: Providing details of prescription to pharmacies and initiating the dispensation of medical products.
7. Travelling: Presenting information from travel documents (e.g. passport, visa), allowing for quick and easy access when going through airport security and customs.
8. Organisational Digital Identities: Proving you are a legitimate representative of an organisation.
9. Payments: Verification of a user’s identity when initiating a payment online.
10. Education certification: Proof of possession for educational credentials, such as diplomas, degrees, and certificates making it easier to apply for jobs or further education.
11. Accessing Social Security benefits: An EU Digital Identity Wallet can be used to securely access a user's social security information and benefits (eg. retirement, disability benefits). It can also be used to facilitate the freedom of movement by storing documents such as the European Health Insurance Card.