The European Commission approves Izertis as the first Spanish open source digital wallet

The European Commission, through EBSI (the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure), has approved the first open source digital wallet in Spain, which will allow citizens to carry their official documents on their mobile phones without having to carry them physically. Among them, it will make it possible to use digitally, with official guarantees from the European Union, such as the National Identity Document (DNI), driving licence, certificates issued by public and private bodies, and other credentials with which to interact with the Tax Agency, City Councils, or other public administrations.

In Europe, digital identity systems are already in use in countries such as Germany, Latvia and Denmark

It is envisaged that by 2024 it will be possible to prove identities by means of such digital wallets throughout the EU. However, some countries such as Germany, Latvia and Denmark already have legislation authorising their use. In this case, the wallet of the technology multinational Izertis has been the first Spanish open source wallet to pass the criteria required by the European administration, and is now available so that Spanish users can carry their accreditations digitally without the need to use a "traditional physical wallet".

Thanks to the open source development of this solution, which has become known as Identfy, other companies and corporations will be able to access its code to use or implement it. Its approval by the EBSI European Blockchain, the highest body in charge of standardising and enforcing legislation regarding wallets, guarantees cybersecurity and transparency for citizens, administrations and companies.

As Miguel Ángel Calero, leader of Vanguard Technologies at Izertis, explained, "this is one of the most important milestones in the history of our company, as with this step we become the first open source digital wallet to be born in Spain".

A decentralised blockchain model

The initiative has been developed on blockchain technology, under the self-managed digital identity (SSI) model, as it allows for the decentralisation of identifiers without the need to resort to a final directory. In other words, individuals can authenticate themselves using trusted, decentralised and cyber-secure credentials, just as they do offline today.

In 2023, only 60% of 14 EU Member States can use their national ID abroad. And only 14% of the major public service providers in all these Member States currently allow cross-border authentication with an electronic identity system, according to the European Commission data.

"The commitment to the use of this type of system means improving citizens' access to their public administration with an interoperable and standardised system where it is the citizen himself who has control over how, when and with whom he shares his information," Calero emphasised.