From November onwards, an electronic wallet will be available under the new EU regulatory framework
Starting next November, and with mandatory acceptance by private service providers and certain online platforms by the end of 2027, every European citizen will have access to an EUDI Wallet. This new European Digital Identity Wallet represents a profound transformation in the way identity, credentials, and personal attributes are managed and verified across the European Union. Conceived as a secure digital wallet provided under a common regulatory framework, the EUDI Wallet enables individuals to prove their identity online and, progressively, offline, while also allowing them to store, manage, and selectively share digital documents and credentials throughout the EU. In practical terms, it will take the form of an application available on smartphones and other devices, capable of holding digital versions of official identity documents such as national identity cards, driving licences, passports, certificates, and a broad range of verified attributes. Its introduction will allow users to access public and private digital services without relying on national systems such as SPID, eliminating the need to repeatedly undergo complex and time-consuming identification procedures when interacting with public administrations, financial institutions, or telecommunications providers.
2026 as year zero for digital identity
Europe is entering the era of the digital wallet, and 2026 marks what can be described as year zero for digital identity. Member States are currently preparing for this transition, adapting their legal, organizational, and technological infrastructures to comply with the new regulatory obligations. In this context, analytical work carried out by institutions such as Banca del Fucino, with contributions from experts including Gianluca Duretto, lecturer at UNINT, provides a comprehensive overview of the changes ahead and the structural implications of the new framework. These studies highlight how the EUDI Wallet represents not merely a technological upgrade, but a systemic shift in governance, trust, and market dynamics.
For many years, European digital identity remained an incomplete promise. The original eIDAS Regulation adopted in 2014 established a voluntary and highly fragmented system, resulting in limited adoption and negligible cross-border use. During this period of regulatory inertia, global technology companies progressively occupied the identity and authentication layer on mobile devices. Through operating systems, proprietary authentication mechanisms, and control over hardware components, these actors effectively became the gatekeepers of access to digital services, both public and private.
The eIDAS 2.0 Regulation emerged as a political and industrial response to this imbalance. At the core of the reform lies the EUDI Wallet, conceived as a public, interoperable infrastructure whose availability is mandatory for Member States. The wallet enables citizens to prove their identity or specific attributes such as age, residence, or professional status without disclosing entire documents or excessive personal data. This architectural choice restores the root of trust to public authorities rather than private platforms, reinforcing state sovereignty over identity while embedding privacy by design into the digital ecosystem.
Economic and strategic implications
From an economic standpoint, the stakes are considerable. The digital identity market, encompassing qualified trust services, biometric verification technologies, and large-scale API integration, is expected to reach a value of several billions of euros by the end of the decade. In this sense, eIDAS 2.0 should not be understood merely as a technical regulation, but as a structural redefinition of power relationships between the public sector, the financial industry, and global technology firms. Identity becomes a strategic asset, central to competitiveness, innovation, and digital autonomy.
The year 2026 represents a point of no return. By November of that year, each Member State must make at least one compliant wallet available to its citizens. However, the obligation for widespread use will take effect in 2027, when banks, telecommunications operators, utility providers, and major online platforms will be legally required to accept the EUDI Wallet for strong authentication and attribute verification. This phased approach is deliberate and significant. While 2026 is primarily dedicated to integration efforts and infrastructure investment, 2027 will mark the redistribution of costs and benefits across the ecosystem. Organizations that delay adaptation risk being excluded from an environment in which trusted interfaces and standardized APIs will already be firmly established.
Comparative analysis of national strategies reveals an unexpected fracture within Europe. Rather than a traditional North-South divide, the emerging differentiation reflects contrasting governance models and legacy systems.
National approaches and application ecosystems
Countries such as Italy, France, Greece, and Poland have adopted centralized, state-first approaches to implementation. Italy stands out as a benchmark, with its IT-Wallet integrated into the IO application, which is already widely adopted by tens of millions of citizens and enjoys full legal recognition. France has followed a similar trajectory through France Identité, placing particular emphasis on hardware-based security mechanisms and stricter control over the link between the digital wallet and the physical identity document.
In contrast, Nordic countries and Germany face greater challenges due to the success of existing private-sector identity ecosystems. In Sweden, BankID covers nearly the entire population, making the introduction of a state-operated wallet both politically sensitive and economically complex. Germany has chosen a federated model based on certified wallets provided by multiple actors, a solution that encourages competition and innovation but risks generating fragmentation and user confusion if not carefully governed.
The result is a two-speed Europe. Member States with less mature legacy systems are often progressing more rapidly, while those previously considered digitally advanced are constrained by their own historical success and entrenched infrastructures.
Selective disclosure and new market dynamics
One of the most disruptive features of the EUDI Wallet is selective disclosure. Instead of storing and transmitting full copies of identity documents, relying parties receive only the minimum information required to complete a transaction. This approach significantly reduces exposure to data breaches and lowers compliance costs related to data protection regulation. As a consequence, privacy evolves from a regulatory obligation into a tangible economic asset.
For many organizations, particularly in the financial sector, minimizing stored personal data translates into lower potential fines, reduced cyber insurance premiums, and faster, more efficient onboarding processes. It is therefore unsurprising that several banks and service providers are already adopting wallet-based authentication ahead of the formal legal obligation.
From an industrial perspective, early advantages are accruing to integration and interoperability providers. Given the existence of multiple national wallets, organizations are unlikely to establish individual technical connections with each system. This reality is driving the emergence of gateway providers offering unified APIs that provide access to the entire European wallet ecosystem. As in many technological transitions, value initially concentrates around those supplying the enabling infrastructure rather than the end-user services.
Technology, platforms, and the long-term horizon
For retail banks, the implications are mixed. While they lose their traditional monopoly over digital identity, they gain the opportunity to substantially reduce know-your-customer and anti-money laundering costs by delegating core identification processes to public authorities. The principal strategic challenge will be maintaining a meaningful customer relationship in an environment where authentication no longer depends on proprietary banking applications.
Technologically, the confrontation with major platform providers is emblematic of broader regulatory ambitions. Through the combined application of eIDAS 2.0 and the Digital Markets Act, European institutions have compelled the opening of critical hardware components such as NFC and secure elements on smartphones. This represents both a symbolic and practical shift in the balance of power between regulators and global technology manufacturers.
While 2026 focuses on implementation and 2027 on mandatory adoption, the true horizon extends to 2030. The ultimate objective is not the proliferation of yet another application, but the creation of an invisible, trusted infrastructure capable of supporting every digital transaction, from airport check-in procedures to the legally binding signing of financial contracts. Much like GPS today, the EUDI Wallet is expected to fade from the user’s conscious perception while becoming an indispensable component of daily digital life. For Europe, it constitutes one of the most concrete attempts to build a genuine digital single market grounded in public trust and institutional credibility.