Between August and September 2026, the focus of the EUDI Wallet shifted from EU-wide rules to their implementation by Member States.

In this article, we will review the developments over the past two months: the Italian decree, the GDC26 conference in Geneva and France Identité’s presentation there, the timetables announced by Germany, Romania and Poland, the European Parliament’s vote on the business wallet, and finally the debates and figures that emerged in September.

Italy: the rules governing the IT-Wallet

On 3 August 2026, Italy published in the Official Gazette the decree governing the IT-Wallet system and its services (Decree of 19 March 2026, Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 178). It supplements an earlier decree, published on 23 July, which approves the system’s guidelines and sets out the framework for its pilot phase (Decree of 17 June 2026, Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 169).

The Italians mainly had digital documents in the IO app. These new texts set out the conditions under which the Italian digital wallet will be rolled out, namely:

  • who operates the infrastructure;
  • who provides the application;
  • who can offer an alternative solution;
  • the implementation timetable.

Two public bodies are responsible for implementation, each with specific roles:

  • IPZS, the Italian National Printing Office, designs and operates the central infrastructure, maintains the system’s register and issues the attestations containing identification data;
  • PagoPA develops and operates the public solution, which is integrated into the IO app.

In order to offer the EUDI Wallet in Italy, private organisations will have to comply with the technical requirements and be registered with AgID, the Italian digital agency.

The timetable spans eighteen months, according to the Italian legal press’s account of it (analysis of the decree):

3 August 2026    Gradual roll-out of features and registrations
3 August 2027    Deadline for public authorities to be recognised as authoritative sources
3 February 2028  Issue of attestations by the IPZS after checking the identity card

For users, this decree stipulates that a public authority which receives a valid electronic attestation is no longer required to verify the information with the original source. An attestation of residence presented via the digital wallet therefore serves as proof, without the need for back-and-forth correspondence with the local authority.

GDC26: the Geneva conference

From 1 to 3 September 2026, the Global Digital Collaboration Conference (GDC26), organised by the Swiss Confederation together with around 50 co-organisers, including the W3C, ETSI and the World Health Organisation (presentation by the W3C), brought together more than 2,000 participants in Geneva, including representatives from governments, international organisations, standards bodies, wallet providers, banks and airlines.

On the first day, an overview of digital wallets and attestations worldwide was provided. The following two days were devoted to working sessions on formats, protocols, authentication and interoperability.

There are two points that relate directly to the EUDI Wallet:

  • the European WE BUILD pilot project showcased a business wallet that manages an organisation’s identity, the delegation of powers and payments (announcement by iGrant.io);
  • payments were a major focus, including payments initiated by an autonomous agent, alongside issues relating to consent, spending limits and liability (report by the Dutch Payments Association).

This final point ties in with the subject of the article on the verifiable identity of autonomous agents.

The issue that keeps cropping up in the reports is that of interoperability. Each component works in isolation, but wallets, standards, browsers and payment solutions must also work together.

France: France Identité at GDC26

France Titres, the agency developing the France Identité app, was in Geneva, where it hosted or contributed to twelve sessions and presented the latest developments regarding the future European digital wallet (news item of 11 September).

The agency also coordinates the activities of the APTITUDE project, one of Europe’s large-scale pilot schemes, which brings together more than 140 partners from 14 countries. Three key areas have been highlighted:

  • travel, using Digital Travel Credentials, which have been trialled at Marseille-Provence Airport;
  • trusted registries, which enable the identification of authorised parties;
  • age verification, with a comprehensive demonstration using Google Wallet and Ingenico.

The fifth edition of EUDIW Unfold, the conference organised by France Identité, will take place on 7 and 8 October 2026 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands (event page). This is an opportunity for partners working on or with France Identité to test their tools with the French environment.

Germany: the name and launch date

On 9 September 2026, the German Minister for Digital Affairs, Karsten Wildberger, unveiled the name and logo of the German state wallet: d-you. The letter “d” refers to both “digital” and “Deutschland”, whilst “you” refers to the user (German government press release).

The German government has confirmed a launch date of 2 January 2027, with use being voluntary and free of charge. The initial scope will cover identification data and electronic attestations. As for qualified signatures, pseudonyms and payments, these are expected to be introduced at a later date (Drucksache 21/7319).

Romania: the RO Wallet website and timetable

At the end of August, the Romanian Ministry of the Interior launched the RO Wallet website and published its technical documentation (official website). The wallet is intended to hold, first and foremost, your identity document, followed by your driving licence and academic qualifications.

According to this documentation, a test version is scheduled for 31 October, a beta version for a select group on 22 December, and the first public release on 14 January 2027 (timeline overview). As in Germany, this date falls after the European deadline, in this case by three weeks.

Poland: a test environment

On 17 September 2026, the Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs launched a free test environment for mObywatel Europa (ministry announcement), aimed at banks, insurers, telecoms operators, transport providers, schools and healthcare services, which will be required to accept the digital wallet. It comprises three elements:

  • a demonstration application;
  • fictitious identity details;
  • a verification tool accessible via a web browser.

Sweden and the Netherlands: longer timelines

Two Member States have announced a timetable that extends well beyond the end of 2026.

In Sweden, the digital agency DIGG is planning to launch an initial version of its state wallet, Sverige-ID, and a test environment in December 2026. Its roadmap aims for a wallet ready for certification in 2028 and certified in 2029 (August status update).

In the Netherlands, the Ministry of the Interior has postponed the public launch of the NL Wallet until the end of 2027, according to the Dutch press (De Andere Krant). Trials carried out in Amsterdam and Nijmegen reportedly showed that participants saw few advantages over DigiD, the existing identification system.

Business wallet: the Parliament’s position

The June article introduced the European Business Wallet, the wallet designed for businesses and public bodies. The Council had adopted its position on 9 June. The Parliament’s position was still pending.

On 10 September 2026, the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted its report and approved the opening of negotiations with the Council (report by Agence Europe, procedure file).

MEPs also set out sovereignty requirements: all business wallet providers should be based within the EU, and information relating to these providers and their wallets should only be stored and processed within the EU.

Discussions are still ongoing between Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The Council has indicated that it wishes to reach a conclusion before the end of the year.

Privacy: criticism from organisations

In September, the press reported on criticism from two digital rights organisations, EDRi and epicenter.works, regarding the draft implementing acts, that is, the technical texts adopted by the Commission to implement the regulation (analysis by epicenter.works).

Here are the five issues that these organisations are highlighting:

  • a Commission draft required each service to hold a certificate, verifiable via the wallet, setting out the information it had declared it intended to request from users; however, Implementing Regulation 2025/848 made this certificate optional, with each Member State deciding whether or not to issue it, which entails a significant risk of excessive collection of personal data;
  • the wallet allows users to register under a pseudonym where the law does not require identification, for example on a forum; however, the draft legislation only protects this pseudonym at the time of logging in, and there is nothing to prevent the forum from subsequently requesting the user’s name and date of birth, and then blocking them if they refuse;
  • the draft implementing regulation required each wallet to contain a photograph of the holder’s face, i.e. biometric data;
  • major platforms, which are obliged to accept the European digital wallet for login, could do without it by using their own solutions, such as Google’s passkeys or Apple’s iCloud Keychain;
  • revocation mechanisms would only have to make it difficult to track a user across services, without preventing it.

September’s figures: what they tell us

On 16 September, Euronews reported, without citing a source, that 24 out of 27 Member States would miss the 24 December deadline (Euronews article). The same article provides an overview of the pilot schemes funded by the EU: 350 organisations, over 1,500 credentials issued and more than 8,000 cross-border transactions.

Finally, IDnow has published the results of a survey carried out in June amongst 2,000 adults in France and Germany. 63 per cent of those surveyed said they would be more inclined to use the digital wallet if they could confirm certain details, such as their age, without revealing everything (IDnow press release). The survey was commissioned by an identity verification provider.

Other reports

Other announcements made in September still need to be verified with official sources:

  • as part of the European WE BUILD pilot, Raidiam has announced a fully operational trusted registry for corporate payment and identity journeys (Raidiam press release);
  • in Croatia, Certilia Wallet is presented as the foundation of the national wallet;
  • in Hungary, the DÁP app has been confirmed as a route to the wallet;
  • in Norway, the Digdir agency has a public test environment;
  • in Portugal, Finland and Liechtenstein, the app or service provider selected is specified (September progress report).

Limitations

I am describing the situation as at 30 September 2026. One important point to note is that a wallet only becomes an EUDI Wallet once it has been certified. We do not have the certification dates for Italy, France, Germany, Romania, Poland and the Netherlands.

Conclusion

The latest news indicates that progress is being made on the roll-out of the various wallets. Several observers doubt that more than a few countries will be able to make a wallet available by the deadline of 24 December 2026 (Biometric Update). Nevertheless, there are signs of progress in various countries: Italy is regulating its wallet by decree, whilst Germany and Romania have set a launch date, and Poland is opening its trials to businesses.

The key issue today, the one that dominated discussions in Geneva during the GDC, is how to ensure that these wallets, which were designed separately and have their own regional characteristics, can operate effectively together.