The hybrid future of digital identity: why EUDI Wallets and eIDs need one platform
Europe is entering a new phase of digital identity.
The EU Digital Identity Wallet, or EUDI Wallet, will give citizens, residents, and businesses a secure way to prove who they are, share verified information, access services, and sign documents across borders. The European Commission says every Member State will need to provide at least one EUDI Wallet, built to common standards and specifications, so it can work across the EU.
That is a major shift. But for businesses, the real question is not simply: “How do we support the EUDI Wallet?”
The better question is: “How do we support tomorrow’s mix of wallets, eIDs, and verification methods?”
Because the next phase will not be wallet-only. It will be hybrid.
EUDI Wallets are a step change, not a clean break
The EUDI Wallet is designed to make digital identity easier, safer, and more reusable. Users will be able to store and share digital documents such as mobile driving licences and education credentials, identify themselves when accessing public and private services, and share only the information they agree to share.
For banks and financial institutions, this could improve onboarding, KYC, authentication, and signing. For public sector organisations, it could make digital services easier to access. For product teams, it could reduce repeated document uploads. For security architects, it introduces a new trusted identity channel built around common EU rules.
But EUDI Wallets will not arrive into an empty market.
Europe already has trusted eID schemes. In countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and many others, people already use national or bank-issued eIDs to log in, verify themselves, sign, and approve sensitive actions. Signicat describes eIDs such as MitID and BankID as trusted identities widely used across Europe for secure access to public and private services.
This means businesses should expect a transition period where wallets and existing eIDs run side by side.
Why wallet-only is too narrow
A wallet-only strategy may look simple on paper. One new regulation, one new identity method, one integration project.
In practice, identity is rarely that simple.
Different countries will move at different speeds. Users will adopt wallets at different rates. Some customers will prefer the eID they already know. Some journeys will require wallet-based attribute sharing. Others will still depend on existing eIDs, ID document verification, registry checks, risk scoring, or step-up authentication.
The European Commission makes it clear that EUDIW will build on existing national identity systems, not replace them overnight. For businesses, that means the transition will be gradual: wallets and established eIDs will need to work side by side.
For regulated industries, this matters. A bank cannot lose conversion because one identity method is unavailable. A government service cannot exclude users who have not yet adopted a wallet. A product team cannot redesign onboarding every time a new country, credential, or assurance requirement appears.
Wallet-only solutions solve one important part of the future. They do not solve the full identity journey.
The future is hybrid: wallets, eIDs, identity proofing, authentication and signing
A more realistic identity strategy combines several layers:
- EUDI Wallets for cross-border identity, verified attributes, wallet-based authentication, and signing.
- Existing eIDs for markets where they are already trusted and widely adopted.
- Identity proofing for users who cannot use a wallet or eID.
- Authentication for login, step-up, payment approval, and account recovery.
- Electronic signing for agreements, mandates, and regulated documents.
- Evidence and auditability for compliance, disputes, and fraud investigations.
This is especially important for banks, fintechs, insurers, public services, and other regulated sectors. Our recent EUDI Wallet guide notes that businesses should assess where wallet-based identity verification, authentication, KYC/KYB, and signing may affect existing customer journeys.
The strategic goal should be simple: give users the right identity method for the right journey, without forcing your internal teams to manage a growing patchwork of integrations.
–“EUDI Wallets will be an important step forward, but the transition will be gradual. Businesses need to support wallets without losing the customers that prefer eIDs they know and trust. The strongest identity journeys will be the ones that combine coverage, choice and compliance in one flow.”
One platform is easier than many identity integrations
The hard part is not connecting to a wallet. It is making wallets, eIDs, identity proofing, authentication, signing, fraud checks and fallbacks work inside the same customer journey.
A wallet-only provider solves one piece. Most organisations need the full flow: coverage across markets, continuity for users, compliance evidence, and a way to add new identity methods without rebuilding the journey later.
As Edwin de Ron, Product Manager at Signicat and EUDIW expert, explains:
“EUDI Wallets will be an important step forward, but the transition will be gradual. Businesses need to support wallets without losing the customers that prefer eIDs they know and trust. The strongest identity journeys will be the ones that combine coverage, choice and compliance in one flow.”
As EUDIW roll out, the advantage will sit with businesses that can manage trusted identity methods from one place. Not to collect more integrations, but to keep identity journeys stable while the market changes.
This is what Signicat’s eID and Wallet Hub was built for. It connects EU Digital Identity Wallets and 35 European eID schemes through a single API, helping organisations support the methods customers already use today while introducing wallet-based journeys as adoption grows.
That means fewer country-by-country integrations, fewer fallback gaps, and less pressure to replace existing eIDs before users are ready. Wallets can be added gradually, while established eIDs continue to support onboarding, login, approvals and signing in markets where they are already trusted.
The Hub also supports what happens around the identity event itself. Authentication Vault can timestamp and store authentication events for onboarding, login and payments, creating stronger evidence for audits and dispute resolution. eID Risk Indicator helps detect suspicious authentications using signals such as device, location and authentication history. And with APIs, SDKs and sandbox environments, teams can test and scale identity journeys without turning every new method into a separate technical project.
That is the difference between adding a wallet integration and building wallet-ready identity infrastructure.
The future is not wallets instead of eIDs. It is wallets and eIDs working together.
The businesses that win will not wait for perfect adoption
The EUDW will create new possibilities for secure, privacy-friendly digital services across Europe. But adoption will not be instant, and existing eIDs will continue to matter.
That is why the strongest strategy is not “wallet-only”. It is wallet-ready and eID-ready.
A single platform approach gives organisations the flexibility to support today’s trusted identity methods while preparing for tomorrow’s wallet-based journeys. It reduces integration complexity, protects coverage, and helps teams move gradually instead of betting everything on one identity method.
EUDI Wallets are coming. But the future of digital identity will be hybrid.
The businesses that prepare for that hybrid future now will be in the best position to offer secure, compliant, and low-friction digital experiences across Europe.