Swiss city launches digital credentials with Procivis software

The city of Zug in Switzerland has become the first in the country to implement digital credentials in a live setting, starting in September 2024. The move toward digitizing identity credentials across Switzerland is expected to culminate in a federal-level digital identity system by 2026.

Zug’s eGovernment platform, known as eZug, now integrates the Procivis One software to manage the issuance and verification of these digital credentials. According to an announcement, users don’t need a separate app to access these credentials.

The first rollout of this digital system is being used to issue employee certificates to over 500 teachers in Zug. The digital certificates replace physical cards and eliminate the need for annual updates, streamlining both the purchasing process and the administrative workload for both the city and the retailers.

“The city of Zug can use this solution to make administrative processes more efficient while ensuring compliance with legal requirements. Moreover, we are further promoting digitization in the city of Zug and supporting innovative approaches,” says Nicolas Lemaitre, project lead for smart city at the city of Zug.

Plans are in place to expand the use of this system, including issuing digital permits for market stalls, which could further simplify city operations and benefit business owners.

“We are proud to work with the city of Zug to integrate our flexible software solution, Procivis One, for decentralized digital identities and credentials into the existing eZug-App. Thereby we enable the efficient and secure issuance, verification, and processing of digital credentials,” says Désirée Heutschi, co-CEO of Procivis.

The software, Procivis One, is designed to support decentralized digital identity for both governmental authorities and businesses. It focuses on data protection and privacy for control over systems.

The modular architecture supports various digital identity protocols and complies with national and international regulations, including Switzerland’s e-ID law, European eIDAS regulations, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security requirements.

Procivis is a subsidiary of Orell Füssli, and won a contract with DHS a few months ago to contribute to open-source digital wallets and verifier tools for decentralized digital identities.

Article Topics

decentralized ID  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  Orell Fussli  |  Procivis  |  Switzerland  |  verifiable credentials