The “digital wallet” of the European Union is already taking shape. In the same application, European citizens will have access to all official documents such as ID or driver’s license, but the work does not end there. You can also save passwords or making official payments, such as taxes or fines.
known as the big project. European Digital ID Wallet. A unified system to be used for any use, from renting a car to verifying our identity. “It’s an alternative to the models of major online platforms,” said Ursula von der Leyen, head of the commission.
it won’t be until 2024 When is this digital wallet expected to hit the market, but we already know enough details about how it will be.
European digital wallet born in Northern Europe
First pilot NOBID (‘Scandinavian-Baltic eID Project‘) is a consortium of Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia and Norway. This group of countries has created an application that will form the basis of the future digital wallet. From March 2023, NOBID will make its app available to some users.
The consortium explains that in addition to securely storing identity and private documents, another priority is PSD2 payments. With the payment infrastructure, you can make online payments, transfer from account to account and accept payments in physical stores. What can be done now with platforms like Google Pay, but with a common system built by and for European citizens?
There are several European banks for this payment infrastructure: DSGV in Germany, DNB and BankID in Norway, Nets in Denmark, Intesa Sanpaolo, PagoPA and ABILab in Italy and Greiðsluveitan in Iceland.
The technology companies that will work on this digital wallet are Thales, iProov, Signicat, RB, Auðkenni, IPZS, Poste Italiane, Intesi Group, InfoCert, FBK and Latvian State Television and Radio Center. Like Elkjøp in Norway and REWE in Germany.
The countries selected for this pilot test are not accidental, as they all stand out for having accomplished more than one document digitization project. Norway, for example, boasts that 90% of them already use an electronic ID, while Denmark explains that it is one of the countries where more citizens receive their official documents digitally. On the German side, while defending bank power Digital ID is mandatory in Latvia It has been used since 2023 and in most state administrations as the Estonian equivalent.
Based on the results of this pilot study, the European Parliament will decide on its implementation. Currently, the Council of Europe has always already accepted the European digital wallet proposal under the eIDAS electronic signature regulation and the relevant Data Law.
If the Spanish application Mi Carta Ciudadana has already taken a step in this direction, a very important step can be taken with the advent of the digital wallet. Europe wants a strong digital market. And the solution is to create your own tools.
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