Digital Wallet

2021: Creation of a service for access to a number of private and public services in the EU

In early June 2021, the European Commission announced the creation of the Digital Wallet service in response to requests from EU member states to find a safe way for citizens to access public and private services on the Internet.

According to the Financial Times, the new application will allow EU citizens to safely access a number of private and public services using a single network identifier. The electronic wallet will securely store payment details and passwords and will allow citizens of all 27 EU member states to access local government websites or pay utility bills.

The EU will create a Digital Wallet service to access a number of private and public services

In addition, the new application will serve as an electronic safe in which users can store official documents, such as a driver's license. The EU application can be accessed through biometric authentication methods such as fingerprint or retinal scanning. EU officials organize a special structural division that will prevent companies with access to user data from using information from the electronic wallet for any commercial activity, for example, for marketing new products.

Brussels is negotiating with EU member states to make recommendations on technical standards for the digital wallet, which is expected to be fully ready for implementation in mid-2022. According to the developers of the project, the use of the application will not be mandatory, but citizens who decide to register with the public services application will receive "all the advantages of a super-secure and flexible digital ecosystem," ideal for life after the pandemic. The digital wallet will be able to "protect the interests of people on the network," experts say.^[1]

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