The Digital Wallet Countdown: Is Europe Ready?
Ana Tavares Lattibeaudiere
Europe’s digital wallet era has begun. Across the continent, the conversation is moving from legislation and pilots to the practical challenges of deploying national digital wallets. Under the European Union’s eIDAS Regulation, every EU Member State must make at least one EUDI Wallet available by the end of 2026—now just a matter of weeks away.
Much of the groundwork is now in place. The regulatory framework is established, technical specifications have been defined, and pilot schemes have been deployed. But challenges remain. Some Member States are more advanced than others, while awareness among citizens and businesses remains relatively low. Attention is therefore turning to the practical questions that will determine the success of Europe’s digital wallet ecosystem: security, interoperability, certification, and trust.
What’s already clear is that the digital wallet opportunity extends far beyond just identity. As digital wallets evolve to support payments, digital credentials, digital currencies and (soon) AI-enabled services, they will become trusted platforms for accessing a growing range of public and private services. Ensuring these platforms are secure, accessible, and scalable will require collaboration across the entire ecosystem.
That’s why this ecosystem is coming together to help shape what happens next at the fourth addition of the GlobalPlatform Digital Wallet Seminar, which takes place in Brussels on 15 October.
Beyond identity: the expanding role of digital wallets
Reflecting the rapid evolution of the market, the 2026 edition of the Digital Wallet Seminar adopts the theme “From identity to AI agents.” While the EUDI Wallet remains a central focus, discussions will look beyond digital identity to explore the wider future of digital wallets and the technologies that will underpin them. Topics will include payments, digital currencies, and the emerging role of digital wallets in supporting trusted AI agents and agentic commerce.
This broader perspective reflects the direction of travel across the industry. Digital wallets are increasingly expected to securely store credentials, authenticate users, authorise transactions, and enable new forms of digital interaction. As these capabilities expand, so too do the technical and security challenges.
On the technical side, for example, the focus will be on how Secure Elements (SEs) and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) can provide complementary foundations for trusted digital wallets. SEs can protect credentials and sensitive operations on devices—including in offline environments—while HSMs protect cryptographic keys and credentials and enable trusted services in the cloud.
Discussions will also explore how the ecosystem can address emerging requirements around certification, interoperability, and lifecycle management.
Building practical digital wallet expertise
The Digital Wallet Seminar will once again be complemented by hands-on training in the technologies and standards that underpin secure digital wallet deployments.
This includes training sessions earlier in the week (13–14 October) focused on the Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) specification. Participants will gain both conceptual and practical knowledge of how the CSP delivers high-level cryptographic building blocks, simplifies application development, and enables platform-independent application certification.
Meanwhile, the week concludes on Friday (16 October) with a dedicated HSM Technical Workshop to explore the practical challenges of deploying HSMs within the EUDI ecosystem. This will help shape future industry best practices and the priorities of GlobalPlatform’s new Digital Wallet HSM Sub-Task Force.
Shaping what comes next
The decisions made over the coming months will help determine not only the success of the EUDI Wallet, but the future of digital wallets as trusted platforms for identity, payments, digital credentials, AI-enabled services and beyond.
The Digital Wallet Seminar provides an opportunity for the organisations shaping that future to come together, share expertise and help build the trusted digital wallet ecosystem that Europe now needs.
Why not join us? Both in-person and virtual attendance is available. Register at:
https://globalplatform.org/event/digital-wallet-seminar-2026/
Comet Meetings - Louise
Pl. Stéphanie 20, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
