How to Build an EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) App

The digital identity landscape in Europe is about to change. Citizens are increasingly looking for secure and easy ways to verify their identities online. Meanwhile, businesses want simpler methods for onboarding customers. The European Union’s eIDAS 2.0 regulation aims to address these needs. At its core, this change introduces advanced EU digital identity wallet apps, which will support Europe’s new digital trust system.

These innovative wallets promise to make cross-border identity verification easy. They will allow citizens to access banking services in Berlin, receive healthcare in Barcelona, or book travel from Dublin, all with one digital credential. For businesses, this is a unique chance to enter a unified European market while ensuring the highest levels of security and privacy.

As the EU prepares to roll out its Digital Identity Wallets by 2026, we know firsthand what it takes to create seamless, secure solutions for identity verification, cross-border services, and digital signatures. IdeaUsher has been at the forefront of crafting digital trust frameworks, and that’s why we’re putting together this blog to guide you through the essential steps in building your own EUDI Wallet platform.

Key Market Takeaways for EU Digital Identity Wallet Apps

According to ResearchandMarkets, the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI) market is on a sharp growth curve, set to rise from USD 3.40 billion in 2024 to nearly USD 9 billion by 2030. This momentum comes directly from eIDAS 2.0, which requires every EU member state to roll out a standardized wallet by 2026. The regulation is not just about compliance; it’s about building trust, cutting friction in cross-border services, and giving individuals greater control over their personal data.

Source: ResearchandMarkets

Pilot projects in countries like Estonia, Belgium, Germany, and Italy are already showing what’s possible. These early versions focus on secure, everyday use cases, with features such as selective data sharing, multi-factor authentication, and blockchain-backed credentials. 

By embedding these capabilities into the design from the start, the wallets are being positioned as practical tools for banking, healthcare, and secure digital interactions across the EU.

Partnerships are equally critical to making this vision real. The WE BUILD Consortium, which brings together nearly 200 governments, public bodies, and technology providers, is piloting large-scale solutions for payments, legal services, and business transactions. 

This level of collaboration ensures that EUDI apps don’t stay as a regulatory concept but evolve into trusted platforms that serve people and companies across Europe.

What is an EU Digital Identity Wallet App?

The EU digital identity wallet app is a secure, user-controlled digital wallet that allows individuals to store and manage their identity credentials, such as government-issued IDs, educational qualifications, and healthcare records, on their personal devices. 

Backed by EU legislation (eIDAS 2.0), the EUDI Wallet ensures privacy, security, and interoperability across all 27 EU member states. 

It empowers users with full control over their personal data, allowing them to share only the necessary information, while also enabling businesses and public services to verify credentials without storing sensitive data.

Why This Isn’t Just Another Wallet?

When people think of a “digital wallet,” most envision Apple Pay or Google Wallet, tools that help with payments or storing tickets. However, the European Union’s Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) represents a much bigger shift. 

The difference between commercial wallets and the EUDI Wallet goes beyond convenience. It’s a matter of fundamental rights. While traditional wallets focus on convenience and ecosystem lock-in, the EUDI Wallet is grounded in three revolutionary principles that transform digital identity.

1. Sovereignty Over Storage 

For years, the digital economy has relied on a model where companies store vast amounts of user data. This creates risks for businesses and users alike. With the EUDI Wallet, we shift away from companies hoarding data to a model where users control and store their credentials directly on their devices.

For example, Germany’s eID app allows users to store their national ID on their smartphone and verify their identity offline using NFC technology. This means businesses can confirm customer identities without ever needing to store sensitive data. It’s a win for both privacy and security, making the whole process smoother for everyone.

2: Privacy-by-Design as a Strategic Advantage

In most digital products, privacy is treated as an afterthought, a box to check for compliance. The EUDI Wallet flips this by making privacy a core feature. Using advanced cryptography, it ensures that privacy is baked into every interaction.

Selective Disclosure

Selective Disclosure changes the game for businesses by letting them verify only what’s necessary. For example, in a banking app, rather than storing a customer’s full birthdate, it could simply confirm whether they’re over 18. The wallet would respond with a verified “yes” or “no,” keeping the rest of their info private.

Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Zero-Knowledge Proofs take it a step further. For a mortgage application, instead of revealing an applicant’s full income, the wallet can confirm it meets the required threshold without disclosing the exact figure. 

For example, the Netherlands’ eIDAS Node lets businesses verify a customer’s legal drinking age without needing to see or store their birthdate. This means the business can confirm the age while keeping sensitive data out of the picture. It’s a win for privacy and compliance.

3. Interoperability by Law, Not by Chance

Commercial wallets often create isolated ecosystems. In contrast, the EUDI Wallet is designed to be interoperable across Europe by law, not luck. The eIDAS 2.0 Regulation (EU 2024/1183) mandates cross-border recognition, offering businesses a powerful entry strategy.

With the new regulation, businesses no longer need to negotiate with individual national identity systems. A single integration gives access to 27 countries and 450 million potential customers.

Benefits of Building an EU Digital Identity Wallet App

Building an EU Digital Identity Wallet app simplifies the customer onboarding process, reducing time and costs while improving conversion rates. It also opens doors to cross-border opportunities, allowing seamless access to over 450 million people across the EU.

1. Streamlined KYC & Onboarding

Traditional onboarding is slow and costly, with manual checks and high administrative fees. The EUDI Wallet allows users to quickly share verified, government-issued credentials, cutting onboarding time to minutes. This boosts customer acquisition, lowers compliance costs, and improves operational efficiency.

2. Cross-Border Interoperability

Expanding across the EU means navigating complex national identity systems. With the EUDI Wallet, one integration provides access to all EU member states, eliminating country-specific hurdles. This opens up a market of 450+ million people, reducing expansion costs and accelerating time-to-market.

3. Enhanced Fraud Protection

Traditional identity methods leave room for fraud and scams. The EUDI Wallet uses government-backed, cryptographically signed credentials, making identity theft much harder. This reduces fraud-related losses, strengthens security, and boosts confidence with regulators.

4. Digital Signature Enablement

Signing contracts often involves manual, outdated processes. The EUDI Wallet enables Qualified Electronic Signatures with legal validity across the EU. This simplifies business processes, accelerates transactions, and provides a secure, tamper-proof audit trail.

5. Consumer Trust & Control

Privacy concerns are on the rise, and users want more control over their data. The EUDI Wallet lets users share only necessary information and keeps their data secure on their device. This builds trust, reduces liability, and fosters stronger relationships with your customers.

How Does an EU Digital Identity Wallet App Work?

The EU Digital Identity Wallet app puts you in control of your personal data, storing verified credentials securely on your device. It uses advanced encryption and biometrics to ensure only you can access and share your information.

The Core Concept: Self-Sovereign Identity 

The EUDI Wallet is grounded in the principles of Self-Sovereign Identity or SSI, a shift from traditional client-server identity management to a more decentralized and user-controlled model. Rather than seeing identity as a service provided by third parties, the EUDI Wallet treats identity as a personal asset, owned and controlled by the individual.

Core Principles of SSI:

• User Control: You decide who accesses your data and for how long.
• Portability: Your identity isn’t tied to any single provider or platform.
• Minimal Disclosure: Share only the information necessary for each interaction.
• Verifiability: Credentials can be independently verified without needing to contact the issuer.

Business Impact:

The move to SSI means that businesses no longer need to store massive databases of personal identities. Instead, they become verifiers of data, significantly reducing liability and compliance risks. This new approach shifts the responsibility of data security away from companies and places it directly in the hands of individuals.

The Technical Engine: Cryptography and Secure Storage

1. Verifiable Credentials 

Think of a Verifiable Credential as a digital version of a physical document—like a driver’s license, except with advanced security measures that make it nearly impossible to forge.

• Issuance: A trusted authority, such as a government agency, creates a credential and signs it cryptographically.
• Storage: The credential is stored securely on the user’s device, not in a central database.
• Verification: Anyone can verify the authenticity of the credential using public key cryptography, without needing to contact the issuer.

Example: When a German citizen receives their digital ID, the German government issues a Verifiable Credential with their identity data, signed by the government’s private key. The EUDI Wallet then stores this credential locally on the user’s device.

2. Local Storage

The EUDI Wallet keeps your credentials secure on your smartphone, using hardware-level encryption and biometric protection like face ID or fingerprints. When you interact with businesses, they never get your raw data, only the information they need. This way, your privacy is always in your hands, and only you control access.

Technical Flow:

User’s Device → Encrypted Local Storage → Biometric Lock → Secure Sharing

3. Selective Disclosure and Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Selective Disclosure and Zero-Knowledge Proofs enable privacy by ensuring that only the essential information is shared, while sensitive data remains private.

Selective Disclosure Example:

• Full Credential: A driver’s license with name, address, date of birth, and photo.
• Selective Disclosure: When proving your age, only an “over 18” attribute is shared, without revealing your exact birthdate.

Zero-Knowledge Proof Example:

• Scenario: Proving your income is above a certain threshold for a loan application.
• ZKP Implementation: You can prove the statement is true without revealing any personal details, such as your actual income.
• Cryptographic Basis: Technologies like zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge) ensure that verification happens without revealing any underlying data.
  

The Trust Framework

One of the most significant innovations of the EUDI Wallet is that it doesn’t require a central database for verification. Here’s how trust is built into the system:

1. Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)

Each participant, whether a user, issuer, or verifier, has a unique, cryptographically verifiable identifier that does not rely on a central authority. DIDs ensure that identity management is decentralized, eliminating single points of failure.

2. Trust Registries

Public trust registries contain lists of recognized issuers, such as governments or educational institutions, whose credentials can be automatically trusted. These registries ensure that verifications can occur seamlessly across borders and services, without the need for a central control system.

How to Build an EU Digital Identity Wallet App?

We specialize in developing secure and compliant EU digital identity wallet apps. Our goal is to create a seamless experience for users while ensuring full adherence to EU regulations, particularly eIDAS 2.0. Here’s how we approach the development process for our clients.

1. Align eIDAS 2.0 & ARF Standards

We begin by ensuring compliance with eIDAS 2.0 and the Architecture & Reference Framework. Our team studies the guidelines to make sure the app meets interoperability standards across all EU states, enabling secure and seamless cross-border functionality.

2. Define Ecosystem Roles

Next, we help our clients define their role in the EUDI ecosystem—whether as a wallet provider, verifier, or issuer. This decision determines key partnerships, particularly with government-certified issuers, to ensure that the app can handle official digital identities.

3. Integrate Privacy Features

Privacy is a top priority. We integrate features like Selective Disclosure and Zero-Knowledge Proofs to allow users to share only the necessary information. Additionally, we ensure secure, decentralized on-device storage to protect sensitive user data.

4. Cross-Border Identity Verification

We design identity verification flows that work across EU countries, using standardized APIs for a consistent experience. We also ensure that data collection complies with GDPR’s data minimization principles, only gathering essential information.

5. Enable Qualified Digital Signatures

We incorporate Qualified Digital Signatures into the app, enabling legally binding digital transactions. This feature complies with Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) standards, ensuring that the app meets all EU legal requirements for digital signatures.

6. Test via EU Pilots

Before deployment, we conduct rigorous testing through EU large-scale pilot programs in sectors like travel, banking, and healthcare. These pilots validate interoperability and ensure compliance with EU regulations, providing confidence that the app is ready for full-scale adoption.

Tools & APIs for EU Digital Identity Wallet Apps

Building a solid digital identity system with EUDI Wallet integration requires the right combination of tools, APIs, and frameworks. These components are key to ensuring secure, efficient, and compliant transactions, while delivering a smooth user experience. Here’s a quick overview of the essential tools you’ll need to make it all work.

1. EUDI Wallet Dev Hub APIs 

The official EUDI Wallet Dev Hub APIs offer a comprehensive set of tools and resources to integrate the European Digital Identity Wallet into applications. These APIs are designed to ensure compliance with EU standards and allow for secure and efficient handling of user identity attributes.

2. Blockchain/SSI Frameworks

3. Cryptographic Libraries

Cryptographic libraries are essential for secure data exchanges, enabling features like selective disclosure and ZKPs. Selective disclosure lets users share only the necessary data, like proving their age without revealing their birthdate. ZKPs allow identity verification without exposing sensitive details, ensuring privacy and security in every transaction.

4. Mobile Secure Environments

Mobile secure environments are essential for safeguarding sensitive user data on mobile devices, especially when managing digital identities and personal information.

• iOS Secure Enclave: Apple’s hardware-based security system that ensures the protection of sensitive data like biometric information and cryptographic keys.
• Android StrongBox: A secure hardware-based solution for protecting sensitive data and cryptographic keys on Android devices, ensuring secure authentication and data storage.

5. eSignature & QTSP Integration

Integrating electronic signatures and Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSPs) is critical for compliance with EU regulations, especially for KYC (Know Your Customer) and other verification processes.

• DocuSign & Adobe Sign: Leading eSignature providers that ensure compliance with EU regulations for electronic signatures. These platforms integrate seamlessly with EUDI Wallet for secure, legally binding digital signatures.
• QTSP (Qualified Trust Service Providers): These services ensure that e-signatures meet the EU’s eIDAS regulations, providing additional layers of security and trust.

6. Identity Verification APIs

Identity verification APIs are essential for confirming the identity of users during onboarding and authentication processes, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

• Onfido & IDEMIA: Leading providers of identity verification solutions, offering tools for document verification, biometric matching, and fraud detection.
• Custom KYC Providers: Custom solutions can be designed for specific needs, ensuring that the identity verification process is tailored to the requirements of your platform and target market.

Use Case: Real-World EUDI Wallet Implementation

A fintech client approached us, frustrated by slow, complicated cross-border onboarding in the EU. Customers were bogged down by physical documents, long waits, and confusing country-specific protocols. They needed a streamlined, secure solution, and that’s exactly what we delivered to help them turn compliance into a competitive edge.

The Solution: Strategic Integration with the EUDI Wallet

The client needed more than just a new feature; they needed a complete overhaul. So, we integrated their system with the European Union Digital Identity Wallet, allowing users to verify their identity with a simple tap, instead of dealing with piles of documents. It was a game-changer for them.

Our implementation focused on three core pillars:

Frictionless Onboarding

We built a secure connection that let the fintech app pull verified identity details like name, address, and nationality directly from the user’s EUDI Wallet, with their consent. This removed the need for manual checks and drastically sped up the onboarding process. It was seamless and efficient.

Privacy-by-Design

Using the EUDI Wallet’s Selective Disclosure, we made sure the app only asked for the minimum info needed for KYC. Users could prove things like age or residency without revealing sensitive details like their full birthdate or address. This gave them peace of mind and built trust from the first interaction.

Built-in Interoperability

By adopting the EUDI standard, we made sure the app worked seamlessly with digital wallets across all 27 EU countries. This single integration opened up access to over 450 million potential users. It was a smart move to future-proof the app’s expansion across Europe.

The Result: Transformation Measured in Minutes and Millions

The impact was both immediate and profound, reshaping the fintech’s operations and business metrics across the board:

• Onboarding Revolutionized: Customer onboarding dropped from days to minutes, turning a once complex process into a smooth, efficient experience, boosting conversion rates.
• Instant Pan-EU Expansion: With EUDI Wallet integration, the fintech expanded across all EU countries without the need for costly, localized systems. “Integrate once, serve all” was now possible.
• Enhanced Security and Compliance: Fraud rates decreased, and compliance costs fell as cryptographically verified government-issued credentials reduced fraud risk. The automated system also cut manual review costs.

Conclusion

EUDI Wallets are shaping the future of digital trust in Europe by offering a powerful blend of legal authority, privacy-by-design, and scalability for businesses. For enterprises and platform owners, getting ahead of the curve and investing in these wallets now ensures a competitive edge as the landscape evolves. At Idea Usher, we specialize in helping businesses design, develop, and seamlessly integrate EUDI Wallets that comply with EU regulations, unlocking new growth opportunities and enhancing user trust in the process.

Looking to Develop an EU Digital Identity Wallet App?

Creating an EU Digital Identity Wallet is no small feat—it requires a perfect blend of cutting-edge cryptography, robust mobile security, and full regulatory compliance. That’s where we come in.

At Idea Usher, we bring over 500,000+ hours of development expertise, backed by a team of former MAANG/FAANG professionals. With us, you can transform the eIDAS 2.0 mandate into your greatest business advantage.

Why Choose Us?

• Privacy at the Core: We design with Selective Disclosure and Data Minimization as fundamental principles, ensuring user privacy is never compromised.
• Built for the Future: Our solutions are engineered to scale seamlessly and are EU-wide interoperable from day one.

Take a look at our latest projects to see how our technical excellence drives results.

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