As Europe prepares to launch the European Digital Identity Wallets, Mastercard is helping ensure that trust, privacy and ease-of-use are built into every interaction.
an article written by Michele Centemero, EVP Services at Mastercard
Whether opening a bank account, accessing government services or buying age-restricted goods online, people are often asked to verify basic details like age or location. Yet too often, this process is slow, confusing or invasive. It shouldn’t be that way.
Today, identity verification should be as quick, simple and trustworthy as tapping a card to pay. But the reality is stark: According to the EU Agency for Cybersecurity, identity theft now accounts for over 40% of online fraud in Europe. And a recent study shows more than 60% of Europeans experience friction during ID checks — often leading to abandoned transactions and lost trust.
That’s why momentum is building around a more streamlined, privacy-centric approach to identity in Europe. With over 500 million citizens accessing everything from financial services to government portals, there’s a clear need for a trusted, consistent way to prove who we are- digitally and securely. That is the current vision behind the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet designed to deliver it. By 2030, the European Commission expects up to 80% of EU citizens could use it for everyday tasks like renting a car, signing a lease or verifying age online as a seamless alternative for secure authentication (SCA) and more.
At Mastercard, we are working to support this evolution. We believe digital identity should feel as natural and reliable as making a payment. Just as we’ve helped make payments simple and secure worldwide, we’re bringing that same approach to Europe’s digital identity ecosystem — starting with ensuring age verification works smoothly and protects everyone.
We are actively contributing to industry-wide initiatives funded by the European Commission to pilot the EUDI Wallets as envisioned by the regulation. As an advisory partner in the NOBID project, we’ve helped define secure, user-friendly payment use cases. In parallel, we are also a partner in WE BUILD Consortium, another Large-Scale Pilot, where we will be collaborating with nearly 200 partners to test real-world applications in consumer and business banking, including payments.
Our collaboration with identity innovators like Lissi is focused on securely tokenizing our payment credentials and integrating them into EUDI Wallets. This effort supports a trusted, interoperable digital identity ecosystem across Europe and aligns with our broader strategy to unlock the full potential of the EUDI infrastructure. By doing so, we aim to integrate card-based payments into EUDI wallets, harmonize strong customer authentication (SCA) and support enriched transactions that combine payment credentials with verified attributes such as age, student status, or residency. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure Mastercard credentials remain universally accessible, embedded in the identity frameworks of the future — and trusted by consumers, businesses, and governments alike.
The article in full here
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