Thanks to the European Digital Identity Wallet, individuals and businesses will be able to communicate more quickly with public authorities, prove their identity and share the necessary data online.
European Digital Identity Wallet
The European Union is introducing the so-called European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDIW) on the basis of the revised eIDAS 2.0 Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1183), which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 30 April 2024.
The European Digital Identity Wallet will take the form of a mobile or web application through which users will be able to store official documents and digitally prove their identity to both private and public entities – for example, when accessing a bank account, signing a tenancy agreement, presenting a university degree to an employer, filing a tax return or authorising online payment transactions. Users will have full control over what data they share and with whom. The wallet should also enable individuals to use a qualified electronic signature free of charge for non-professional purposes.
What must Member States do?
Every EU Member State is obliged to offer its citizens and residents at least one certified European digital identity wallet by the end of 2026 at the latest (specifically, within 24 months of the Commission’s adoption of the implementing acts for the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation). From December 2027 onward, regulated private-sector entities, i.e., in particular, banks, will also be obliged to accept the digital identity wallet. In the Czech Republic, the preparations are being coordinated by the Digital and Information Agency (DIA). However, the digital identity wallet is not yet available here.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing the European Digital Identity Framework
Author: Pavla Kubáková, Associate, Corporate and M&A, LYNX (Czech Republic)