Cyprus launches Digital Citizen mobile digital ID app

Citizens of Cyprus can now go digital, with the launch of the country’s mobile digital services app, Digital Citizen.

The country’s president, Nikos Christodoulides, says the app “allows citizens to obtain and store official documents in digital format for legal use within the country,” according to reporting from In-Cyprus. In the first phase of rollout, that includes biometric identity cards, driving licences and vehicle roadworthiness certificates (MOT). QR codes are used to facilitate the scanning of digital documents.

Christodoulides calls it “a crucial step towards our country’s digital transformation, aimed at creating a modern, user-friendly and efficient state.”

The launch follows Cyprus’s issuance of its first 100,000 digital IDs in October. Its digital ID program, known as IDMe.cy, can be used for identity verification, authentication and digital document signing, among other purposes.

Cypriot financial and data infrastructure services firm JCC Payment Systems Ltd is the issuing entity overseeing authentication, under the supervision of the Department of Electronic Communications of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.

Users of the digital ID app must have an activated and verified CY Login profile to access government systems and services, and two-factor authentication must be turned on.

App makes Cyprus wallet-ready

Cyprus, an EU member state, is bound by the eIDAS 2.0 regulation, meaning it is required to offer its citizens a digital wallet option by 2026. Per DigWatch, its current digital strategy, which expires in 2025, aims to accelerate digital transformation through a “forward-looking vision that positions Cyprus as a future-ready, knowledge-based economy and society.”

Now, with the launch of its app, the government is urging organizations to make accepting digital ID documents a priority, as it moves toward making it mandatory. A specified compliance date is to be announced soon.

Previously, the government had promised that its gov.cy portal, powered by a generative AI digital assistant, was expected to go live in the last quarter of this year. It originally pegged the launch of Digital Citizen for May 2024, indicating a slight lag in timelines.

A dedicated website, www.digital-citizen.gov.cy, has more information about the Digital Citizen app, which is available on Google Play or the App Store.

Article Topics

Cyprus  |  Digital Citizen  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  eIDAS  |  EU  |  JCC Payment Systems  |  mobile app