Digital identity wallets: features and diffusion

Free Content Report March 2025 31 pages pdf

What you will learn

The report presents the results of the study of international digital identity wallet projects, classifying them according to key variables. The results of direct tests on some wallets are illustrated, with a focus on the attributes contained and the methods of access and presentation of credentials. Furthermore, the report presents the strategies adopted by the governments of European countries to develop the national digital identity wallet.

Table of Contents

1
Introduction
2
International census of digital identity wallet systems
3
Attributes of digital identity wallets: testing private solutions and potential applications
4
Strategies for the Development of National Digital Identity Wallet Projects

Index of Graphs

1
Definition of “digital identity wallet”
2
Ecosystem of players involved in wallet development
3
Comparison between 2023 and 2024 census
4
The status of the digital identity wallets surveyed, divided by development player

You will know how to answer these key questions

How widespread are digital identity wallet projects?
What are the characteristics of wallet based digital identity systems at international level?
What are the most common attributes within digital identity wallets and their applications?
What are the strategies used by different countries for the development of digital identity wallets?

The methodology used in this Report

Census of international cases of digital identity: the census was launched in June 2020 and is still open with a view to continuous updating. Starting from the systems notified according to the European eIDAS regulation, and cross-referencing this data with international news relating to the most relevant cases, 125 digital identity projects were analyzed. Each case identified was examined in depth considering the following variables:
- general information (country of reference, launch date, diffusion rate, project status);
- evolution dynamics towards new paradigms for digital identity;
- actors involved in the ecosystem;
- technologies used;
- types of data exchanged;
- application areas.
Census of international cases of digital identity wallet: the census was launched in February 2023 and is still open with a view to continuous updating. The cases identified through the analysis of secondary sources that correspond to the definition of “digital identity wallet” developed by the Observatory were included in the census. Over 160 cases were identified, relating to the public and private world, and each of them was analyzed considering the following variables:
- general information (country of reference, project status, geographical area);
- identified entity;
- technologies used;
- available services;
- methods of using the wallet;
- attributes and storable documents;
- geographical area of validity and characteristics of the individual attributes;
- business model.