The European Union has revealed it intends to introduce a new digital wallet that will be available for use across all 27 member states by 2022.
According to sources at Bloomberg and the Financial Times, the wallet will be used to securely store important documents, passwords and payment details. The idea for the introduction follows requests from member states to identify a secure way for citizens to access public and private services online.
The wallet will also enable users to log into government sites, register for services and pay bills using a single ID. Access to the wallet will be provided through a fingerprint or retinal scan.
EU officials intend to keep data access to the wallet ‘strictly governed’, in order to prevent commercial companies from gaining access to user data. It will not be mandatory to sign up the digital wallet.
The European Commission – who are leading the wallet initiative – is currently in talks with EU member states with the aim of draft the initial technical standards for the wallet.
EU Commissioner Thierry Breton – who is also in charge of digital policy – claimed earlier this year that the digital wallet will give EU citizens ‘the key to their digital twin’.
According to the Financial Times, the new proposals are part of a review of existing EU-wide electronic identification and follows a previous consultation of the ‘drivers and barriers’ for the deployment of a digital wallet.
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