Barriers for developing and launching digital identity wallets

Abstract

Across the European continent, governments and GovTech companies are rushing to launch digital identity wallets for citizens. These wallets should allow citizens to obtain a higher level of control over their personal data. While there are some regulations and policy directions, actors are struggling with the design, launch, and governance of these digital wallets. Those looking for help will find little guidance in academic literature. The objective of this paper is to provide insights in barriers for launching digital identity wallets by a public-private ecosystem. Drawing on the case study approach, we study the available regulations and policy directions, and collect insights from workshops with policy makers and aspiring wallet providers. The main findings indicate that barriers such as the lack of boundary resources (e.g. shared data specifications and exchange standards) and the absence of a collaborative, public-private governance impede the launch of digital identity wallets. Policy makers looking to speed up the launch of digital wallets must focus on removing these barriers, starting with the development and governance of boundary resources by the public-private ecosystem.