Biometrics providers navigate the emerging details of digital wallet ecosystem

If reusable ID backed by biometrics is on the cusp of mainstream adoption, it is via digital identity wallets. Most of the technology not only exists, but is already on the market, and transaction numbers with digital wallets from governments, big tech behemoths and ID specialists are growing fast. Next on the agenda is working out details about how the commercial market will work, how data privacy will be protected, how to solve the first mover problem and credential interoperability.

Top biometrics news of the week

In a data point for the first detail, the UK government continued its digital ID market experiment by clarifying that the people will not be able to directly serve their digital driver’s license (DDL, but elsewhere often called an mDL) from their Gov.uk wallet for private sector use cases. The DDL will be a source for a digital ID under the DIATF, not the functional credential itself. That leaves identity service providers with orchestration and digital verification services as their key market functions, which Luciditi and OneID suggest is a good start.

Executives from Yoti and CitizenCard joined a Parliamentary session the day before the clarifications were offered at  a meeting between industry representatives and DSIT with warnings for the government about how to handles its wallet’s business.

Unfortunately for Gov.uk One Login, a red team exercise by Cyberis has found a serious vulnerability in the government’s public sector ID system, ComputerWeekly reports.

Age checks are one of the potential use cases for EUDI Wallets, and EU policy documents state a preference for age assurance through zero-knowledge proofs. Moving ahead with some kind of age verification policy is a priority for Denmark when it takes an EU chair position in July.

EUDI Wallets also came up in relation to the second issue for digital wallets noted above, at EIC 2025. Henk Marsman of SonicBee warned that users have shown themselves prone to manipulation, while relying parties with data-driven business models have an incentive to ask their users to share too much. And as Hopae noted at the conference, not all wallets are equal in terms of cybersecurity.

The third detail for digital wallets was also raised at IEC 2025 and in a KuppingerCole blog post. The numbers and conditions in the enterprise identity market make it ripe for adopting user-held digital identity, and Richard Esplin of Dock Labs and DIF made the case that enterprise IAM is struggling to meet needs VCs are well-suited for.

The financial sector is another good candidate, as a Feedzai survey shows banks are increasingly using AI to fight fraud, and Sumsub’s Penny Chai says banks are warming up to user-held, reusable ID.

New Zealand’s digital identity verification app, NZ Verify, is introducing support for foreign mDLs using the mDoc format from Australia and the U.S. so they can be used for hotel check-ins and car rentals.

On the other end of the digital ID spectrum is cards with electronic chips storing biometrics, like those in Sri Lanka. Thales is about to deliver hundreds of thousands of cards for the country’s e-NIC IDs.

Biometric border controls and an undramatic conclusion

Strong growth continues in biometric border control, meanwhile, as iProov adds a face biometrics deployment at Orlando International to its American implementations, along with those in the UK and EU.

Also in the U.S., the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board gives TSA a mixed report card for its use of facial recognition. In fact, 1:1 face biometrics are less concerning to the PCLOB, which supports an expansion, particularly of 1:N facial recognition, only after serious deliberation.

UNHCR and Chad’s government have worked together to issue legal IDs to thousands of refugees living in the country, using technology from Idemia. They expect to issue thousands more during a pilot intended to help the refugees receive basic services.

Also among the top headlines this week, a judge granted final approval of Clearview AI’s agreement to settle alleged biometric data privacy violations, finally ending a five-year process with some money changing hands, but without definitively answering any important legal questions.

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Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  reusable digital ID  |  week in review