EUDI Wallets & eIDAS 2.0: What it is and what it means for companies

Digital identity solutions are no longer a rarity in the European Union. They are already widespread in Nordic countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. This development began around the turn of the millennium: In light of amended EU directives that were intended to equate digital identities with physical ID documents, some European countries began to explore the possibilities of eIDs and to introduce corresponding systems. However, these developments were limited to national borders. With the entry into force of the eIDAS Regulation in 2016, a common framework for electronic identification and transactions in EU member states was created, which has also included provisions on eID since 2018. The aim was to get EU member states to mutually recognize their various eID systems to enable better interoperability across national borders.

Also take a look at our blog “EUDI wallets: What companies need to know now. The top 10 questions and answers!”

Find out what requirements and advantages eIDAS 2.0 holds for companies and how you can prepare for it here.

In March 2024, the eIDAS 2.0 regulation was adopted. It stipulates that by 2026, EU member states must offer all citizens so-called “EUDI wallets” (European Digital Identity Wallets), which are based on uniform technical standards. The new standards will not only influence the digital user experience of customers, but also the digital business processes of companies. It is therefore essential for companies to prepare for the EUDI wallets – because with the right preparation, not only obligations but also opportunities will arise.

What is eIDAS 2.0?

eIDAS stands for “Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services” and is an EU regulation. In particular, the eIDAS 2.0 regulation stipulates that all EU member states offer their citizens so-called “EUDI wallets” by 2026. These EUDI wallets are based on uniform technical standards and contain verified personal attributes (so-called “PID” Personal Identification Data), which citizens use to identify themselves in the digital ecosystem.

Specifically, this means that

• ID wallets are anchored in the EU regulation in Europe from 2026 for the sharing, management and use of verified identity data.
• Citizens conveniently store their ID cards and, in the future, also their driver’s licenses and other attributes (e.g. certificates, membership cards, public transport tickets) in secure EUDI wallets.
• Companies are obliged to accept the EUDI wallets in their business processes. This obligation applies to companies in regulated sectors, and non-regulated companies may also accept the wallets. Use cases include, in particular, onboarding, strong authentication and digital signing.

How does eIDAS 2.0 affect my company?

The aim of the eIDAS regulation is to make trusted interaction in the digital world legally secure and user-friendly. It defines legally binding implementation deadlines for all EU member states and affected organizations.

• Regulated sectors are required to integrate EUDI wallets. These include, for example, the health, transport/mobility, energy, banking and finance, postal services, education, digital infrastructure and drinking water sectors. As gatekeepers, large platforms such as Apple, Google, Facebook or Zalando are also obliged by the EU regulation to integrate EUDI wallets.
• The mandatory integration of EUDI wallets will greatly accelerate the ecosystem of digital identities. The use of EUDI wallets will develop rapidly due to mandatory acceptance in relevant use cases. EUDI wallets will quickly become the standard for onboarding, logging in and signing for customers.
• Regardless of whether companies are obliged to integrate the EUDI wallet or whether companies accept the EUDI wallets on a voluntary basis, all companies should identify the impact on their digital business processes. The new requirements must be implemented and opportunities must be seized, both in terms of interacting with customers and in the end-to-end digitalization of their own workflows.

Does eIDAS 2.0 offer advantages for companies?

Changing conditions not only bring new requirements, but also new opportunities. eIDAS 2.0 has the potential to quickly advance digitalization in Europe by a large step. This leap in digitalization will also achieve new standards in security, efficiency and customer experience when handling digital identity data:

1. Digitization: Companies can effectively and comprehensively digitize internal and external business processes based on uniform standards for the transmission and processing of trusted personal attributes (e.g. ‘PID’).
2. Efficiency: The transaction and process costs for secure and regulatory-compliant onboarding, for secure log-in (‘SCA’) and for legally binding digital signatures will decrease significantly with uniform European standards.
3. Customer experience: The current digital access barriers caused by ever-changing identification requirements and individual log-in logics of each individual provider are eliminated. This enables digital applications that process cases from start to finish. Conversion rates and customer satisfaction can thus reach new levels.

In addition, the eIDAS 2.0 framework allows company- and sector-specific attributes to be added. For example, mandates, affiliations and memberships can be specifically added and managed with the same security and trust standards. This opens up new potential for the digitalization of business processes for closed user groups, e.g. within corporations, associations, chambers of commerce, etc.

How can I prepare for the new eIDAS requirements?

eIDAS 2.0 is new. The national implementation for Germany is currently being implemented. Some aspects are still undefined, interactions with existing regulations and already established, certified and approved workflows are largely unclear. New frameworks for certifications and approvals in Germany are uncertain. At the same time, the mandatory market launch for 2026 has been set very clearly by the EU.

We recommend that companies actively address the issue in order to address the main implications now:

1. Understand eIDAS 2.0:
2. Make sure that all departments and individuals within the company have a basic understanding of eIDAS 2.0 and are aware of which regulations may become relevant to them by 2026.
3. Consider eIDAS 2.0:
4. Determine how the new requirements will affect your business processes. How can you fulfill the requirements of the eIDAS regulation and at the same time meet the needs of your customers?
5. Apply eIDAS 2.0:
6. Develop a clear roadmap to 2026: What already exists and what needs to be changed, what opportunities arise for new end-to-end solutions. Identify all your eIDAS-relevant digital business processes and start with initial pilot projects.
7. eIDAS 2.0 Concretization:
8. Be sure to test your use cases with the new technical standards before 2026. To do this, you can use the Verimi live application, for example, which already covers the upcoming eIDAS standards to a large extent in a POC. Live testing of your use cases to validate the requirements for your business processes according to new eIDAS standards, e.g. with PID.

Prepare your company for the future. Verimi has more than 5 years of experience in the live operation of regulated ID wallets in well over 100 real-world use cases in Germany. Valuable experience to know what is really important for ID wallets and for connected use cases!

We support companies and organizations in preparing for eIDAS 2.0 and EUDI wallets in a targeted manner – with eIDAS intensive workshops and EUDI wallet proof-of-concepts (POC). Find out more here.