• Bitkom and the Ministry of Digital Affairs sign memorandum of understanding
• 82 per cent of companies in Germany want to use the wallet

The German economy, together with politicians, is speeding up the implementation of the future EU-wide digital identity. To this end, the digital association Bitkom and the Federal Ministry for Digitalisation and State Modernisation, together with more than 75 companies, have signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding on the successful introduction of the EUDI wallet’. The occasion is today’s summit on European digital sovereignty in Berlin, which was initiated by Germany and France. The EUDI wallet is intended to offer consumers across Europe more than just a digital wallet. With the EUDI wallet, official documents such as ID cards or driving licences can be stored and shared on smartphones. Other digital documents such as certificates, insurance policies or purchase contracts can also be secured with it. In the Memorandum of Understanding, the companies announce, among other things, that they will quickly convert their processes to use the EUDI Wallet, at the initiative of Bitkom. The Digital Ministry wants to incorporate feedback from the business community into the implementation process. “The EUDI Wallet is much more than an app. With the EUDI Wallet, Europe is creating a common infrastructure for digital legal transactions. The EUDI Wallet secures identity, authentication and verification of digital evidence – based on uniform standards and across borders,‘ says Bitkom President Dr Ralf Wintergerst. ’The EUDI Wallet is a fundamental digital innovation for Europe and an important step towards the digital participation of several hundred million people.”

Dr Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digital and Public Service: “The EUDI Wallet is an important building block in making our country more digitally sovereign, efficient and citizen-friendly. It is particularly important to me that the launch of the EUDI Wallet provides attractive use cases that offer real added value to citizens. Cooperation with the business community guarantees reliability and predictability for both sides.”

There is considerable interest in a wallet solution. In a recent Bitkom survey, 82 per cent of companies with 20 or more employees in Germany said they already intend to use the EUDI wallet in the future. 13 per cent have not yet addressed the issue and only 2 per cent do not want to use the EUDI wallet. At the same time, only 4 per cent of the companies that want to use the wallet have taken the first steps towards implementation, another 4 per cent want to start this year and 45 per cent next year. But three-quarters (75 per cent) want to wait and see what experiences others have with the EUDI wallet. ‘Because many people are initially hesitant about new technologies, we are bringing together the pioneers of the economy today: companies that are making their services “wallet-ready” at an early stage,’ says Wintergerst.

In the German economy, companies want to use the EUDI wallet primarily for identity verification of customers and as a simple and secure login to digital applications. This applies to 71 and 63 per cent of companies that want to use the wallet, respectively. Fifty per cent want to use it to accept digital evidence of professional qualifications, for example, while 34 per cent want to issue digital evidence themselves, such as employee ID cards or training certificates. Forty-three per cent want to use the EUDI wallet to sign digital documents such as contracts.

The signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding include more than 75 companies from various sectors such as banking and finance, retail, mobility, cyber security and telecommunications. All information and the list of all signatory companies can be found online here: www.bitkom.org/MoU-EUDI-Wallet

All results of the company survey on the EUDI wallet can be found in the Bitkom Dataverse here: www.bitkom.org/Bitkom-Dataverse/EUDIWallet

Note on methodology: The information is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. A total of 605 companies with 20 or more employees were surveyed by telephone. The survey took place between calendar weeks 38 and 43 of 2025. The survey is representative.