The EUDI Wallet: Between ambition and reality
Seven quick questions to Kristian Thure Sørensen, Ambassador for Digital ID Platform and Services at IN Groupe
As Europe accelerates towards the launch of the EUDI Wallet, organisations are facing a complex mix of ambition, regulatory pressure, and fragmented market readiness. Cutting through the noise requires moving past architectural theory and focusing on operational reality. As Ambassador for Digital ID Platform and Services at IN Groupe, Kristian Thure Sørensen focuses precisely on this intersection. In this brief interview, he shares a pragmatic view of the European rollout, the operational hurdles for relying parties, and why the ecosystem must prioritise utility over mere compliance.
How many countries will actually be ready in 2026?
The idea of a synchronised, Europe-wide launch is unlikely to materialise. A small group of countries, probably around five, will deliver fully operational EUDI wallets by the end of the year. Alongside them, many others will introduce more limited solutions - “mini wallets”, often focused on specific use cases such as age verification. What emerges is not a unified rollout, but a fragmented landscape. For service providers, this means adapting to multiple levels of maturity. The EUDI wallet should be approached as an additional identification methodology, not a universal standard from day one.
Will the wallet simplify onboarding for banks and other regulated sectors?
Not in the way many expect. For banks, telcos, and other regulated service providers, the EUDI wallet does not shift KYC or AML liability; the relying party remains entirely responsible for the final risk assessment. The true value lies in operational efficiency - specifically, the reduction of manual document handling and the higher cryptographic assurance of the data received. However, these regulated sectors will still need intermediary brokers and orchestration platforms to seamlessly consume and verify these new credentials without drowning in integration friction. It is an evolution of the data pipeline, not a magic waiver for compliance.
What is actually stored in the wallet?
The wallet is often misunderstood as being a digital identity in itself. In reality, it is simply a secure container and an interface for identity credentials. The true value does not lie in a new interface or the local storage, but in the underlying Trust Stack - enabling users to access and exchange verifiable data from sovereign and trusted sources. The fundamental shift is moving towards selective disclosure and giving users full control over their data sharing.
Is this a revolution for countries with strong eIDs?
For countries like Denmark and Sweden, this will feel more like an evolution. Our existing eID systems already benefit from high adoption and robust trust frameworks. In these countries, the EUDI wallet will primarily act as a new interface layer, especially for cross-border use cases. However, beneath that continuity lies a critical, structural shift: the move away from static integrations toward portable, verifiable credentials and user-mediated data exchange.
How do we move from compliance to real usage?
By recognising that regulation alone is never enough to drive mass adoption. While wallet acceptance will be mandated for certain service providers, mandates create compliance - they do not create markets. As I often say, no one wakes up in the morning with a burning desire to authenticate themselves. For the wallet to succeed, the EUDI wallets must seamlessly integrate into - and improve! - high-frequency, everyday interactions like logins, services, and payments. This requires relentless private-sector engagement and clear incentives for all parties. The challenge is no longer technical; it is entirely about orchestrating a functioning, high-utility ecosystem.
Is the business wallet the real catalyst for the ecosystem?
Absolutely, and it remains heavily underestimated. While citizen inclusion is vital, stripping the friction out of B2B onboarding, KYC, and supplier verification will likely be the true commercial engine that drives this entire ecosystem forward. The organisational wallet introduces a new dimension of digital trust: wallet-to-wallet interactions where both parties can exchange verified credentials in real-time. This fundamentally reshapes how trust is established across supply chains and digital transactions, removing massive amounts of back-office friction.
Where do global tech giants and payment networks fit into this picture?
They are a primary reason this initiative exists. We are currently seeing a fierce battle for the consumer interface, and the recent news of Mastercard partnering with Romania to help build an EU-aligned wallet is a perfect illustration of this reality. Global networks recognise that digital identity is the next foundational infrastructure layer. While global tech giants excel at user experience and scale, digital identity requires sovereign trust. The EUDI Wallet initiative should ensure that European Member States retain absolute control over the root of trust, data governance, and credential issuance. We do not need to ban global players, but we must build a robust, sovereign European Trust Stack so that our institutions and governments are not reduced to mere utility pipes in someone else's commercial ecosystem.
What to prepare for now?
The EUDI wallet will not transform European digital identity overnight. The rollout will be gradual, and legacy systems will run in parallel for years. However, it permanently introduces a new standard rooted in interoperability, user control, and sovereign trust. Organisations that shift their mindset now - moving from isolated compliance tactics to ecosystem strategies - will be the ones dictating the pace of the market tomorrow.