The European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) will mark a new step in the transformation of digital identity across Europe. By the end of this year, all EU member states must offer at least one wallet that allows citizens, residents, and businesses to prove their identity and share verifiable credentials to access public and private services across different countries.
For businesses, this evolution can streamline processes such as opening bank accounts, help reduce document fraud, and facilitate verification of cross-border customers. However, unlocking its potential will require adapting current systems and preparing identification, authentication, and fraud-prevention processes. According to the Ditto digital platform, here are five keys to doing so.
1. Integrate the wallet into a common identity model
Before integrating the EUDI Wallet, companies should review how they currently manage identification, authentication, and fraud prevention, and what tools they use for each function. If these systems operate in silos, adding another solution could increase fragmentation and create new security gaps.
The recommendation is to integrate the wallet as one more credential within a common identity model, connecting it with existing systems rather than managing it independently. In this way, the different tools can share relevant signals and offer a more coherent experience, without multiplying the checks a user must go through.
2. Maintain security after identity verification
Companies should not assume a transaction is secure simply because the user has properly proven their identity when registering or logging in. A device can be compromised, an app can be tampered with, or a legitimate session can end up under an attacker’s control.
To reduce these risks, it is prudent to continuously check the integrity of the device and the application, and tailor controls to the risk of each operation. Checking a balance, for example, should not necessarily require the same checks as adding a beneficiary or authorizing a high-value transfer. This approach lets companies strengthen protection where it matters most without adding unnecessary friction to everyday operations.
3. Request only the data you need
Selective disclosure is one of the most relevant capabilities of the European Digital Identity. It allows, when the credential and use case permit, proving a specific attribute (such as being of legal age) without revealing additional information, like an exact date of birth.
Companies should review what data each process truly requires and tailor their forms and verification mechanisms to request only what is essential. It’s also wise to avoid storing full copies of documents when not necessary. Reducing the amount of personal information kept limits exposure to potential breaches and enables privacy-by-design within the service.
4. Strengthen account recovery and customer support
The integration of new credentials should cover the entire relationship with the user, not just the initial identification moment. Companies should link verified credentials with existing customer records and review how identity is verified when someone loses their phone, needs to recover an account, or contacts customer support.
These processes can become a vulnerability if they rely on easily guessable security questions or depend too much on an employee’s subjective judgment. Leveraging an identity that has already been verified, together with additional controls when risk exists, can help close these access channels and prevent robust authentication from being undermined by a weaker recovery procedure.
5. Plan a gradual adoption and maintain alternatives
The EUDI Wallet will coexist for years with physical documents and other identity methods. Moreover, EU member states progress at different paces, so companies should plan phased integration, test compatibility with their systems, and prepare to manage credentials from different countries without rebuilding their processes for each market.
Technological readiness should go hand in hand with an adoption strategy. To encourage wallet usage, companies should clearly explain its benefits—such as speeding up onboarding, reducing repetitive checks, and sharing less personal data. It is also important to maintain suitable alternatives for those who do not wish to use it or have difficulties doing so. Adoption will depend not only on the obligations applicable to each service but also on users’ trust in the tool and their perceived real benefits.
