Every EU Member State must make a digital identity wallet available to citizens by the end of 2026. That’s the obligation set by the European Digital Identity Regulation. But meeting the deadline is the easy part, warns Jacques Van Zijp; getting people to use the wallet and trust it is harder.
Van Zijp, Executive Vice President Europe at IN Groupe, makes the case in a Euronews opinion article. His company, a French state-owned specialist in secure identity and document systems, sees the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet as a potential trust layer for the European economy and a growth driver for a single market operating at digital speed.
The Everyday Friction
The problem will be familiar to anyone who has moved house or switched banks. Opening an account, renting a flat or signing up for a new service can involve photographing an identity document, uploading proof of address, typing the same details again and waiting for verification. Across another Member State, the process can be even more cumbersome. Van Zijp says these procedures weigh on European economies through abandoned transactions, duplicated verification costs, slow onboarding, fraud losses and cross-border friction.
Privacy by Design
The Wallet, he writes, isn’t simply a digital copy of an identity document on a smartphone. It shifts identity systems away from identification, where a person reveals who they are and someone else decides whether they qualify, toward verifying a specific fact. A citizen could prove they’re over eighteen without disclosing their name, address or date of birth. Van Zijp says this would give people greater control over what they share and reduce the amount of personal data circulating through the economy.
For two decades, he notes, digital services have largely assumed that security, privacy and performance pull against one another: more security meant more friction, while more privacy meant less convenience. A trusted authority could certify a credential, he argues, so others could verify it instantly, in person or remotely, without manual review. His shorthand: “Less data disclosed. Stronger assurance. Faster transactions.”
Possible uses include verified bank account and employment information, driving licences and diplomas, electronic signatures, and proof that someone is authorised to act for another person or a company. Portable credentials could ease cross-border activity for citizens and businesses alike. Van Zijp says European law, standards and identity infrastructure could anchor a digital trust model that combines interoperability with privacy, and innovation with democratic control. Governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America developing their own digital identity systems could also find the model relevant, he adds. Proportionality, user control and data protection, he says, are fundamental to its success.
Inclusion Is the Test
Availability alone won’t ensure adoption, Van Zijp writes. Drawing on IN Groupe’s work supporting Wallet and credential pilots for public and private issuers across several Member States, he sets out four conditions. Enrolment must be simple, reliable and accessible from the start. Inclusion requires support, alternative channels and delegation mechanisms for citizens with different levels of digital confidence and access to technology; otherwise, digitalisation can create new barriers. People need clear ways to correct information and recover access, because information can be wrong, credentials can fail and devices get lost. A working ecosystem must also exist: businesses may hesitate to invest without enough users, while citizens may see little reason to adopt a Wallet until it works with services they value.
Governments can help, he says, by enabling high-value public services and working with private-sector providers to build compelling everyday use cases.
What Comes Next
Van Zijp’s verdict: the regulatory framework has created the opportunity, and the technology is ready. What’s missing are services citizens choose to use. “Europe has legislated trust. Now we must earn it. The growth will follow.”
Why This Matters:
A digital identity wallet that works across borders is the kind of problem only an EU-wide framework can solve; no single national system could. But the author’s own list of conditions shows where it could go wrong. People with less digital confidence, or without the latest smartphone, risk being locked out of services that increasingly assume the Wallet exists. Fallback channels, delegation and straightforward ways to fix errors or recover lost access aren’t extras; they determine whether a public good serves everyone or only the already connected. It’s worth remembering, too, that this is an industry voice arguing for adoption. Its commercial promises are claims, not proven results. With the end-of-2026 deadline close, Member States face a test: can European ambition on digital trust match delivery that includes citizens least comfortable online?