eIDAS 2.0 and the future of digital identity
The European Union's revised eIDAS regulation introduces a binding framework for digital identity across all member states. It mandates the European Digital Identity Wallet and creates the legal foundation for organisations to issue, hold, and verify credentials that are recognised across borders. Credenco is built for this reality from the ground up.
Explore the Business WalletWhat is eIDAS 2.0?
eIDAS 2.0 is the revision of the 2014 European regulation on electronic identification and trust services. Where the original regulation focused primarily on electronic signatures, the 2024 revision dramatically expands scope: it introduces the European Digital Identity Wallet as a mandatory infrastructure for all EU member states.
Read Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 on EUR-Lex
For organisations, this means a legal framework for issuing and verifying digital credentials — from company registrations and tax compliance statements to professional qualifications and insurance certificates. Credentials issued under eIDAS 2.0 carry legal validity across all 27 member states.
The regulation aligns with open standards (W3C Verifiable Credentials, OpenID4VC) to ensure interoperability. Any wallet that meets the technical requirements can participate — preventing vendor lock-in and enabling a genuine European ecosystem of digital trust.
Why it matters
By 2026, EU member states must provide citizens and businesses with access to a digital identity wallet. Organisations that issue or verify identity-related documents — from chambers of commerce to banks, insurers, and procurement platforms — will increasingly work with verifiable credentials instead of PDFs and email.
Early adopters gain a structural advantage: faster onboarding, lower fraud risk, automated compliance checks, and readiness for mandatory regulations before they take effect. Organisations that wait will face a compressed transition timeline with higher cost and disruption.
Who eIDAS 2.0 applies to, and when
eIDAS 2.0 applies at two levels. Member states must build and operate the European Digital Identity Wallet infrastructure and make it available to citizens and businesses. Organisations that issue or verify identity-related documents, including chambers of commerce, banks, insurers, government agencies, and procurement platforms, need to be able to issue credentials into that wallet or accept credentials presented from it.
The rollout follows a fixed timeline. By 2026, every EU member state must provide citizens and businesses with access to a digital identity wallet. Ahead of that date, organisations that issue or verify credentials are expected to have the technical capability to work with wallet-based credentials, since the demand from wallet holders arrives the moment the wallet itself becomes available.
In practice, preparing means three things: aligning credential formats with the open standards eIDAS 2.0 references (W3C Verifiable Credentials, OpenID4VC), connecting to a trust registry so issued credentials can be verified without contacting the issuer directly, and adopting a privacy-by-design architecture that keeps personal and organisational data with the holder rather than on a central server. Organisations that start early avoid the compressed transition timeline, higher cost, and disruption that come with waiting until the deadline is close.
Standards we build on
Credenco implements the full stack of European and international standards for digital identity and verifiable credentials.
eIDAS 2.0
The revised European regulation on electronic identification and trust services. It mandates the European Digital Identity Wallet and establishes a legal framework for verifiable credentials across all EU member states.
W3C Verifiable Credentials
The global open standard for digitally verifiable claims. Credentials issued in this format can be independently verified without contacting the issuer.
OpenID4VC
A suite of protocols (OID4VCI, OID4VP) that enables interoperable credential issuance and presentation between wallets and verifiers.
GDPR
Europe's General Data Protection Regulation. Credenco's privacy-by-design architecture means personal data stays with the holder — never on a central server.
EBSI
The European Blockchain Services Infrastructure provides a cross-border trust registry for verifiable credentials, ensuring issuers and verifiers can be trusted across the EU.
How Credenco aligns
Credenco's Business Wallet is designed from the ground up to meet eIDAS 2.0 requirements. It implements W3C Verifiable Credentials, OpenID4VC for credential issuance and presentation, and integrates with EBSI trust registries — ensuring every credential issued through Credenco carries the standards-based trust that the regulation demands.
All infrastructure runs on European cloud providers. Personal and organisational data is stored in wallets, never on central servers. This privacy-by-design architecture is not a retrofit — it is a core design principle that aligns directly with both GDPR and the eIDAS 2.0 wallet requirements.
Frequently asked questions
What is eIDAS 2.0?
eIDAS 2.0 is the 2024 revision of the European Union's regulation on electronic identification and trust services. It introduces the European Digital Identity Wallet as mandatory infrastructure for every EU member state and creates a legal framework for issuing and verifying digital credentials that are recognised across borders.
Who does eIDAS 2.0 apply to?
eIDAS 2.0 applies to EU member states, who must offer citizens and businesses a digital identity wallet, and to organisations that issue or verify identity-related documents, including chambers of commerce, banks, insurers, government agencies, and procurement platforms.
When does eIDAS 2.0 take effect?
By 2026, every EU member state must provide citizens and businesses with access to a digital identity wallet. Organisations that wait until closer to that date face a compressed transition timeline with higher cost and more disruption than early adopters.
What is the European Digital Identity Wallet?
The European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) is the mandatory infrastructure eIDAS 2.0 requires each member state to make available. It lets citizens and organisations store, present, and verify credentials such as company registrations, tax compliance statements, and professional qualifications, without relying on paper documents or email.
How does eIDAS 2.0 relate to GDPR?
eIDAS 2.0 and GDPR reinforce each other. A privacy-by-design wallet architecture keeps personal and organisational data with the holder instead of on a central server, which supports GDPR compliance while meeting the wallet requirements eIDAS 2.0 sets out.
Is Credenco's Business Wallet eIDAS 2.0 compliant?
Yes. The Business Wallet implements W3C Verifiable Credentials and OpenID4VC for credential issuance and presentation, and integrates with EBSI trust registries, so every credential issued through Credenco carries the standards-based trust eIDAS 2.0 requires.