Germany lays out plans for national EUDI Wallet

Germany’s federal government is planning to introduce a state digital identity wallet as part of the European Union Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet scheme, the continent’s plan to give each citizen a digital ID. The national EUDI wallet will gradually become usable by 2027 and will continually expand its functions, says Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.

The first core function of the mobile app wallet will be identification. Citizens will also be able to produce digital documents and sign them with a qualified electronic signature (QES).

“We want citizens to be able to prove their identity quickly, securely and easily directly via their smartphone – without an additional card or reader,” says Faeser. “This will make it much easier to prove their identity in everyday life, when applying for a job, when banking online or when dealing with authorities.”

The German government also plans to create conditions for non-state providers such as companies, foundations and research institutions to offer their own EUDI wallets. The Ministry of Interior is hosting an open online consultation on the EUDI Wallet architecture on October 9th, 2024.

The national wallet project is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) and the Federal Office for Information Security. In May, SPRIND selected six companies to participate in its competition in designing EUDI Wallet prototypes with state funding. Another five companies have joined the competition within the non-funding track, including Samsung and Google.

The 13-month prototype competition is intended to solve the most important challenges in designing an EUDI wallet for German users.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  EU Digital Identity Wallet  |  Germany  |  government services  |  SPRIND