Is Europe Ready for the EUDI Wallet? A 2025 Status Overview

Europe is entering a decisive phase of its digital identity transformation. With the adoption of eIDAS 2.0 in May 2024, a harmonized, cross-border identity infrastructure is now within reach. At its core lies the EUDI Wallet, a unified digital identity wallet that every EU member state must make available to citizens by the end of 2026.

This transformation marks a shift from isolated national systems toward a collective European ecosystem: one that promises stronger data protection, simpler user experience, and seamless cross-border interoperability. But this evolution is more than just technical, as it is also about governance, public-private cooperation, and building trust.

In this article, we explore how ready EU member states are to implement the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) and what challenges remain.

What Is the EUDI Wallet?

The European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) is a mobile wallet that will allow citizens to securely store and share verified identity data, credentials, licences, and attributes under full user control. It is the centrepiece of the eIDAS 2.0 regulation and will become the new standard for identification across public and private services in the EU.

Key deadlines:

• By the end of 2026: Each EU Member State must provide at least one certified EUDI Wallet.
• November 2027: Regulated sectors (finance, telecom, etc.) must accept the wallet as a valid identification method.
• 2030 goal: ~80% of EU citizens using EUDI Wallets.

Regulatory Foundations: eIDAS 2.0 and the EUDI Mandate

The legal cornerstone of the shift towards unified digital identity is eIDAS 2.0 (Regulation (EU) 2024/1183), which modernizes and expands the original 2014 regulation on electronic identification and trust services.

Key elements of the regulation:

• Wallets must comply with common technical specifications to ensure interoperability across borders and between systems.
• Users retain control over their data: they choose what to share and with whom, ensuring privacy-by-design.
• Use cases span public and private services: access to government e-services, banking, travel, digital signatures, etc.

As the regulation sets binding deadlines, Europe is now focused on technical deployment, certification, and real-world readiness of identity wallets.

Large-Scale Pilots: From Theory to Practice

To ensure that the EUDI Wallet works in real-world conditions, and across services and borders, the EU launched several Large-Scale Pilot (LSP) projects under the Digital Europe Programme.

First-Generation Pilots (2023–2025)

• POTENTIAL Consortium – covering six use cases: eGovernment services, bank account opening, SIM-card registration, mobile driving license, qualified eSignature, and ePrescriptions. By mid-2025 it had executed over 1,300 tests and more than 1,000 successful transactions, including 249 cross-border use cases.
• EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium (EWC) – focused on digital travel credentials, wallet interoperability, and payments as early use cases.
• NOBID Consortium (Nordic-Baltic project) and DC4EU Consortium – explored payment authorizations, credential verification, and other social-service use cases.

These pilots helped identify technical and governance challenges: from inconsistent implementations to difficulties rolling out verifier services for relying parties.

Second-Generation Pilots (2025–2027): Scaling Up

• WE BUILD Consortium – kicked off in September 2025, this project aims to design and test a business and legal-entity identity ecosystem based on EUDI. It includes nearly 200 participants and focuses on B2B, B2G, and B2C interactions.
• APTITUDE Consortium – launched in October 2025, this pilot will test real-life use cases including travel & mobility, digital vehicle documents, payments, and identity for everyday services. Results are expected by 2027.

These initiatives mark a decisive shift from experimentation toward deployable, scalable EUDI Wallet solutions across Europe.

Assessing European EUDI Wallet Readiness: Leaders, Fast Followers, and Emerging Implementers

The readiness of EU member states to implement the EUDI Wallet varies significantly. Broadly, countries can be divided into three groups.

1. Nordic and Baltic Pioneers

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland have invested heavily in mobile-first eID solutions, resulting in high citizen adoption and seamless integration with public and private services. In the Baltic region, Estonia stands out globally, with 99% of government services online. Latvia and Lithuania also maintain mature mobile eID ecosystems. These countries benefit from strong public-private partnerships, interoperable systems, and citizen trust.

2. Western and Southern Fast Followers

Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands are modernizing their identity infrastructure. Germany runs innovation competitions for EUDI Wallets, France rolls out the France Identité app, Italy expands SPID with IT Wallet, Spain pilots Cartera Digital Beta, Belgium’s Itsme is widely adopted, and the Netherlands combines DigiD, iDIN, and SSI solutions like Yivi.

3. Eastern and Southeastern Emerging Implementers

Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and non-EU countries like Ukraine and Albania are developing digital identity systems at varying speeds. Ukraine’s Diia app is a notable success despite challenging conditions, bundling over 50 government services. Emerging implementers leverage lessons from early adopters and large-scale EU pilots to accelerate wallet deployment.

What the Change Means for Europe and its Citizens

The introduction of the EUDI Wallet represents a milestone in Europe’s digital transformation.

For Citizens

• Unified, mobile-based digital identity across services.
• Cross-border usability within the EU.
• Controlled sharing of personal data.
• Convenience for banking, travel, government, and health services.

For Businesses & Governments

• Easier, more secure onboarding and identity verification.
• Lower bureaucracy and costs.
• Potential to build pan-European services using a common identity infrastructure.

Challenges and What Remains to be Done

Several hurdles remain before the EUDI Wallet can reach its full potential.

• Interoperability is still fragile; common standards are essential.
• Verifier adoption is a bottleneck, especially for SMEs.
• Governance, certification, and trust are crucial for success.
• Tight deadlines: wallets by end of 2026; regulated sectors by 2027.

Outlook: From Vision to Reality

The foundation for a unified digital identity ecosystem across Europe is being laid today. With eIDAS 2.0, the legal mandate is clear; with large-scale pilots such as POTENTIAL, WE BUILD, and APTITUDE, the technical and practical groundwork is being tested.

If rollout proceeds smoothly, with interoperable wallets, broad verifier adoption, and robust governance, the EUDI Wallet could become a cornerstone of Europe’s digital sovereignty. By 2030, millions of Europeans may rely on a single wallet for banking, travel, e‑government services, and more. However, the transition remains delicate. Success hinges not only on code and standards, but also on trust, transparent governance, and effective implementation across dozens of countries.

Europe is at a turning point. The tools are being built. The experiments are underway. What remains is to transform ambition into everyday reality.