The momentum in digital identity tells a story that should make every enterprise sit up and take notice. There are over 120 million Europeans already using national eID systems (43 million in France's FranceConnect, 38 million in Spain's DNIe, 33.5 million in Italy's SPID, and millions more across Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands), the transition to EUDI wallets represents a massive migration rather than a fresh start. With large platforms required to accept these wallets by 2027, organisations that aren't prepared for digital ID acceptance will find themselves playing catch-up.
The European digital identity landscape in August revealed a crucial shift from theoretical frameworks to practical implementation. The launch of ARF Iteration 3 might sound like another bureaucratic milestone, but it represents something more significant: the final technical refinements before widespread deployment.
What caught our attention at Vidos wasn't just the technical progress, but the real-world testing that's now underway. Lufthansa's pilot campaign for airline check-in using the EUDI Wallet with test identity "Hanna Matkalainen" offers a glimpse into the immediate future. We're seeing technology move from demonstrations to solving actual business problems. Travel and payment scenarios moving from phase 1 to phase 2 testing indicates that the ecosystem is learning and adapting rapidly.
The European Identity Wallet Consortium's conclusion in July 2025, with learnings transferring to the WE BUILD Consortium, demonstrates healthy iteration. As we've observed from our work with enterprise clients, the secondary use cases (business representation, access to services, fraud reduction, etc.) will determine whether digital identity delivers on its promise or becomes another compliance checkbox.
The regulatory framework is now firmly in place with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/849 establishing the list of certified European Digital Identity Wallets. This regulatory clarity, combined with projections of continued rapid growth in wallet adoption, creates an environment where enterprises need to move from planning to implementation.
The UK's approach in August revealed a different philosophy – one focused on establishing trust through rigorous standards rather than rapid deployment. The Office for Digital Identities and Attributes' call for views on trust services (closing September 20, 2025) highlights an important reality: 34% of UK digital identity service providers already offer trust services, generating £136 million in revenue.
As an organisation pursuing certification under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework, we at Vidos see the high bar for certification as essential for maintaining a secure ecosystem. The clarification of GOV.UK Wallet's information gateway role, enabling individuals to share government-verified data with private sector providers for purposes like age verification, represents pragmatic thinking about public-private collaboration.
The lack of a gap analysis for the beta to gamma framework transition may have seemed like an oversight, but OfDIA's explanation reveals strategic thinking: forcing providers to comprehensively review changes ensures deeper understanding and better implementation. With over 50 services now certified and the sector generating £2.1 billion annually while employing over 10,000 people, the UK is building a robust foundation rather than rushing to market.
The compatibility between UK and EU identity systems continues to present technical and business challenges. Organisations operating across borders need solutions that work seamlessly regardless of jurisdiction. Our recent enhancements to DID resolver capabilities directly address this need, supporting additional decentralized identifier methods (did:ebsi, did:ethr, did:key, did:web) that span both ecosystems.
The discussion around digital identity maturity for regulated sectors in the UK mirrors conversations happening across Europe. Questions about acceptance by regulatory authorities like the SRA and HMRC aren't unique to Britain – every member state faces similar challenges in aligning digital identity with existing regulatory frameworks.
The August developments make three things clear:
The industry is clearly heading beyond identity verification to value creation through practical use cases. The mandatory acceptance by regulated industries in December 2027 might seem distant, but organisations that wait until then to prepare will find themselves scrambling.
At Vidos, we're particularly encouraged by the focus on interoperability and standards-based approaches in both the UK and EU. The high standards being set, whether through the UK's rigorous certification process or the EU's comprehensive technical framework, creates the foundation for a trustworthy ecosystem where fraud reduction only occurs if issuers, holders, and verifiers all maintain high levels of assurance.
The question for enterprises isn't whether to adopt digital identity verification capabilities, but how quickly they can implement solutions that are compliant, interoperable, and ready for the scale that's coming. In our view, August 2025 may be remembered as the month when digital identity stopped being about the future and became about the present.
