Cyprus digital ID must be accepted by all organizations, says govt

The government of Cyprus has reminded organizations that they must accept digital documents, including national ID cards and driving licences, stored in the country’s official digital identity app, Digital Citizen.

Digital documents carry the same legal weight as physical ones and must be accepted without exception by all Cypriot organizations, companies and service providers, the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy said on Tuesday, according to In-Cyprus.

Deputy Minister Nicodemus Damianou also reminded that the Digital Citizen app has been linked to Greece’s Gov.gr Wallet, allowing Cypriot citizens to present digital IDs and driving licenses in Greece and Greek citizens to do the same in Cyprus. This interoperability deal between the two Mediterranean countries, however, has attracted scrutiny from the Cypriot state Audit Office.

State audit examines digital ID app

In a special report examining the Digital Citizen project, published at the end of February, the agency argues that the deal bypassed public procurement procedures.

The Digital Citizen app contract was valued at 1.7 million euros, with 1.5 million euros earmarked by Cyprus for developing the platform and another 200,000 euros provided by Greece for integrating electronic signatures and identity into its Gov.gr wallet. The integration deal was awarded to an existing third-party contractor used by the Greek government, rather than through an open tender process.

Cyprus and Greece also failed to provide detailed cost estimations for activities. The project’s implementation is now expected to exceed the 1.5 million euros budget covered by the contract due to additional expenses, says the Audit Office.

In its response, the Deputy Minister Damianou said that the Audit Office raised procedural issues but did not identify any misconduct or legal violations.

The Digital Citizen project was developed as part of an intergovernmental cooperation between Cyprus and Greece, launched in November 2023. The agreement contained contractual safeguards to protect public interests and standard provisions. Legal experts from both the Cypriot and Greek sides reviewed the contract, the Ministry notes.

The Ministry also says that future phases may be handled through an open tender process. The government is considering expanding the current app to align with the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) framework or developing a separate solution.

This isn’t the first time that the Cypriot Audit Office has raised questions about the country’s digital ID project.

Last year, the agency examined the decision of Deputy Minister Damianou to directly award the 3.85 million euro (US$4.5 million) eID agreement to JCC Payment Systems without holding an open tender. The issue was compounded by the fact that Damianou previously served as an executive in the financial company.

JCC remains the licensed provider of Cyprus’ national electronic identification system (eID) IDMe.cy. The eID system enables access to government services through the CY Login portal.

According to February data, the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy developed 75 new digital services in 2025, while the Digital Citizen app exceeded 135,000 registered users.

Cyprus is planning more projects in 2026, including the Mobile Smart Citizen App, which will allow users to communicate with local authorities and access services such as those provided by the Cyprus Electricity Authority (EAC).

Article Topics

Cyprus  |  Digital Citizen  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  Gov.gr  |  procurement