EUDI Wallet: Real Use Cases in Education, Employment and Public Administration

The European Union is moving towards a unified digital identity model that will allow citizens and businesses to verify credentials, sign documents and access public and private services through a single application. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, known as eIDAS2, requires all Member States to provide at least one interoperable digital wallet before the end of 2026.

This is a considerable challenge. Current national systems operate in isolation and lack cross-border recognition, which hinders labour mobility, increases verification costs and creates friction in processes that should be seamless. The EUDI Wallet has been developed to address this fragmentation, with pilots already testing real use cases in education, employment, banking and public administration across more than 25 European countries.

The EUDI Wallet is a mobile application established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 that allows any EU citizen or resident to store identity credentials, present them to third parties and sign documents with legal validity across all Member States. Its main difference from existing systems is that users control what data they share, with whom and when, without relying on centralised databases or private authentication platforms.

The wallet stores data locally on the user’s device. Each time a service requests verification, the holder decides which attributes to disclose through selective disclosure techniques. According to the Spanish Data Protection Agency, this design makes it possible to prove specific conditions such as legal age or professional qualifications without exposing full identity. The Regulation also requires an integrated dashboard within the wallet so that users can review transactions carried out and the data shared with each provider.

The eIDAS2 framework requires very large online platforms (VLOPs, under the Digital Services Act) to accept the EUDI Wallet as an authentication option when requested by the user. This measure aims to provide a European public alternative to login systems currently dominated by private technology platforms, strengthening digital sovereignty at both individual and continental levels. Verifiable digital identity using blockchain and DNIe extends this vision by connecting Spanish digital certificates with interoperable trust infrastructures.

European EUDI Wallet pilots are already testing verifiable credentials in education, employment, banking and telecommunications. More than 100 EU organisations participate in DC4EU, the project coordinated by Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation, which enables graduates to share diplomas and microcredentials from their digital wallet with legal validity in any Member State, without paper copies or physical presence.

Any professional needing to demonstrate a qualification in another European country will be able to do so from the wallet in seconds. Qualified electronic attestations of attributes (QEAA) function as cryptographically signed digital certificates that the receiving organisation verifies against European trusted lists, without managing document copies or manual processes. According to the European Commission, this model enables fully digital hiring processes in which candidates share their professional credentials and employers validate them without storing additional data. Digital verification of academic credentials is already progressing in this direction within the Spanish ecosystem.

In the financial sector, the POTENTIAL and NOBID pilots are testing the EUDI Wallet as a strong authentication factor for opening bank accounts, authorising payments and registering SIM cards. The second wave of European consortia, including APTITUDE and WE BUILD, extends these use cases to e-commerce and digital health. For companies with customer identification obligations, blockchain-based KYC identity verification provides a complementary framework that strengthens the reliability of these processes.

The EUDI Wallet will allow European citizens to complete public procedures without repeatedly submitting documentation, thanks to the once-only principle established under eIDAS2. Spain’s Cl@ve system already provides unified access to more than 13,000 public entities and handles over 1.1 billion authentications annually for 24 million users, according to the Ministry for Digital Transformation. This foundation places Spain among the best-prepared countries to integrate the European digital wallet.

The once-only principle is supported by electronic attestations of attributes issued by authoritative sources such as civil registries, cadastral systems and social security. Citizens reuse these credentials across multiple procedures without resubmitting paper documentation, reducing manual verification and streamlining administrative processes. The expected convergence between DNIe, Cl@ve and the future national wallet will eliminate duplication and improve the user experience in digital public services. Digital identity and eIDAS2 in public administration further develop this transformation.

The Ministry for Digital Transformation has already introduced the Digital Wallet Beta, an initial national implementation aligned with the European age verification standard (EU AVS) and the EUDI architecture. This wallet will serve as the foundation for broader functionalities leading up to 2026. The Regulation establishes that its use will be voluntary and prohibits discrimination against those who choose alternative methods, ensuring that no group is excluded from access to public services.

The interoperability of the EUDI Wallet is based on the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF), the technical document developed by the European Commission that defines how credentials are issued, stored and verified between wallets, issuers and relying parties. This framework is updated iteratively with feedback from large-scale pilots, enabling national wallets to be developed in a compatible way from the outset.

The ARF has converged on open standards such as W3C Verifiable Credentials, JSON Web Signatures and the OpenID4VCI and OpenID4VP profiles for credential issuance and presentation. Each credential is a cryptographically signed object that relying parties verify against EU Trusted Lists, without needing to consult the original data source for each transaction. This model reduces the burden on issuers and accelerates verification times. Experience in reducing fraud in official certificates demonstrates how cryptographic verification strengthens the reliability of sensitive documents.

The security of the wallet combines secure key storage on the device, multi-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption. Certification requirements, assessed by accredited bodies, ensure a level of protection comparable to high-assurance identification methods. The Regulation also requires wallets to be prepared for future adoption of quantum-resistant algorithms, using hybrid schemes that the European Commission and the European Data Protection Supervisor consider viable within a coordinated environment among Member States.

Spanish companies adopting the EUDI Wallet will be able to simplify customer identification processes, reduce onboarding drop-off rates and expand into other European markets using a single verification standard recognised across the EU. Instead of managing document copies and manual verification, companies will rely on verifiable credentials signed by public authorities or qualified trust service providers.

Mutual recognition of EUDI Wallets removes one of the main barriers to cross-border expansion. A Spanish company will be able to accept identity credentials issued in any Member State with a harmonised level of assurance, which is particularly valuable for online banking, distance learning, collaborative economy platforms and professional services. The European Commission is also developing the European Business Wallet, focused on organisational identities, which will enable companies to prove tax status, certifications or representation powers in a standardised way in tenders and B2B operations. Blockchain-based traceability complements this ecosystem by providing immutable verification of supply chains and products.

The availability of standardised verifiable credentials enables new business models based on attributes. Sectors such as digital entertainment, shared mobility and service platforms will be able to automate verification of legal requirements, such as age checks or financial solvency, without requiring users to disclose unnecessary data. Spanish companies that leverage infrastructures such as ISBE to prepare for this integration will be better positioned in the future European digital single market.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 requires all Member States to provide at least one interoperable and free EUDI Wallet by the end of 2026. Spain is among the most advanced countries in this process due to its participation in the DC4EU pilot, the Cl@ve infrastructure and the development of the Digital Wallet Beta presented by the Ministry for Digital Transformation.

The European timeline sets progressive milestones. The Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 April 2024 and entered into force on 20 May of the same year. The European Commission is adopting implementing acts detailing the technical specifications and certification requirements for wallets. Very large online platforms and certain regulated services will be required to accept the wallet as a means of identification within timelines extending to 2027, according to guidance documents published to date.

At national level, the Ministry for Digital Transformation has confirmed that the Spanish wallet is being designed in alignment with the EUDI framework and will be made available to citizens by 2026 as part of an ecosystem based on DNIe and Cl@ve. Spain’s participation in DC4EU and European networks such as EBSI strengthens the country’s ability to deploy the wallet with functional use cases from day one. Companies that invest now in adapting their identification, signature and credential verification processes will be better prepared for a market where the digital wallet becomes the standard of trust.

The Spanish Blockchain Services Infrastructure (ISBE) acts as a technological backbone for issuing and verifying verifiable credentials with legal validity. Personal data remains within the user’s EUDI Wallet; ISBE records cryptographic hashes, revocation statuses and metadata required for verification. This model combines blockchain immutability with the principles of data minimisation and privacy by design required by eIDAS2 and GDPR.

ISBE is designed as a set of public-permissioned blockchain networks based on Hyperledger Besu, the same technology used by the European EBSI infrastructure. This technical compatibility enables credentials issued or anchored in ISBE to be verified in cross-border contexts within the EU. ISBE develops specific interoperability tools with EBSI to guarantee this connection, strengthening the compatibility of Spanish solutions with the European digital identity ecosystem.

ISBE use cases align with the domains covered by the EUDI Wallet. Diplomas, academic credentials, microcredentials, document certification and digital product passports are areas where ISBE already provides operational infrastructure. Its decentralised governance model ensures that operations are shared between public and private entities, preventing any single organisation from exercising unilateral control. ISBE incorporates GDPR and eIDAS2 compliance by design, both technically and in governance, ensuring trust and legal validity for every credential issued or verified on its infrastructure.

Frequently asked questions

Is it mandatory for citizens to use the EUDI Wallet?

No. The use of the EUDI Wallet is voluntary for citizens and residents. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 requires Member States to offer at least one free wallet but prohibits discrimination against those who choose not to use it. Public services and large platforms must accept it when users choose it, while maintaining alternative identification methods.

What is the difference between the EUDI Wallet and a cryptocurrency wallet?

The EUDI Wallet manages identities and verifiable credentials with legal validity across the EU under the eIDAS2 framework. Cryptocurrency wallets store digital assets on blockchain networks without a comparable pan-European legal framework. Although both use cryptographic techniques, the EUDI Wallet is not designed to store cryptocurrencies but to verify identity and attributes with legal effect.

How does ISBE guarantee the security of my data in the digital wallet?

ISBE does not store personal user data. Its role is to record cryptographic hashes, revocation statuses and metadata necessary for credential verification. Personal data remains on the holder’s device under their exclusive control. ISBE incorporates GDPR and eIDAS2 compliance by design, with efficient consensus mechanisms, encryption, node access control and continuous monitoring.

Can I use the wallet to sign documents with legal validity?

Yes. The eIDAS2 Regulation establishes that the EUDI Wallet must enable the creation of qualified electronic signatures and seals, equivalent to handwritten signatures across the EU. The wallet will integrate with qualified trust service providers managing qualified signature certificates, allowing contracts and administrative procedures to be signed with full legal guarantees.