Legislation on European Digital Identity Wallets enters into force in October

European Digital Identity Wallets are applications for your mobile phone that you can use to identify yourself electronically, sign documents electronically and present digital certificates. Wallet applications will be free of charge, and using them will be voluntary. They are expected to become available in 2027.

The national legislation required to allow the use of European Digital Identity Wallets will enter into force on 1 October 2026. The new legislation supplements the EU’s amended eIDAS Regulation, which governs cross-border electronic identification, trust services for electronic transactions and European digital identities. 

It will be possible to use wallets both with online and in-person services everywhere in the EU. Digital wallet users will be able to decide how their personal information is used, and that use will be more transparent. For example, users will be able to decide what information they want to keep in their wallet and who they want to share that information with. Only the user will be able to monitor the use of their wallet. It will be possible to incorporate a wide variety of digital certificates into wallets, such as mobile driving licences or customer loyalty cards. 

“Digital wallets will make using services in the EU even easier. Wallets will also be more secure, as they will give people better control of their personal information,” said Minister of Local and Regional Government Anna-Kaisa Ikonen.

Digital identification solution to be included in wallet applications