Electronic identification (eID): what it is and how it works
What electronic identification (eID) is under eIDAS, the kinds of eID, how a sign-in works, levels of assurance, eID vs document and chip checks, the EUDI Wallet, AMLR and the gaps an eID leaves.
In short
Electronic identification (eID) is proving who you are online with an identity credential issued under national or EU law, such as a chip ID card, a mobile app, a bank ID or a digital wallet. eID verification is a business accepting that sign-in and receiving signed identity data instead of a photo of a document.[1]
- From 10 July 2027, EU anti-money laundering rules accept eID at substantial or high, with relevant qualified trust services, as a way to verify a customer.[23]
- Every EU Member State must offer an EUDI Wallet by 24 December 2026.[1]
Electronic identification is using identity data in electronic form to prove who a person is, as the EU's eIDAS Regulation (electronic identification, authentication and trust services) defines it.[1] In practice, a person opens an account, picks the eID they already use, approves the request on their phone or card, and the business receives a name and a date of birth signed by the issuer.
What electronic identification means in law
eIDAS is Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2), which rewrote the definitions in Article 3.[1]
Article 3(1)Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183
"'electronic identification' means the process of using person identification data in electronic form uniquely representing either a natural or legal person, or a natural person representing another natural person or a legal person"
Source: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/1183[1]
| Term in Article 3 | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Electronic identification means (3(2)) | The credential used to sign in: a chip card, an app, a wallet |
| Person identification data (3(3)) | Data issued under law that establishes identity: name, date of birth, an identifier |
| Electronic identification scheme (3(4)) | The system that issues the credentials, such as MitID or BankID |
| Relying party (3(6)) | The business that relies on the eID or the EUDI Wallet |
| European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet (3(42)) | An eID means that stores identity data and attestations, presents them, and signs |
The kinds of eID people carry
The credential lives in one of five places.
| Kind | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Chip card with NFC | An NFC phone or reader reads the card's chip; the holder types a PIN | Germany's online ID: the card plus a PIN[3] |
| Mobile app | An app approves the sign-in with a swipe, PIN or biometrics | MitID: 97.2% of Danes over 15 (April 2026)[4]; itsme: 8 million Belgian users (end of 2025)[6] |
| Bank ID | Banks issue it to customers they already know | BankID Sweden: 8.7 million users and 99.9% of Swedes aged 18 to 67 (2025)[7]; Finnish bank IDs through the Finnish Trust Network[8] |
| SIM-based | Keys sit on a special SIM; the PIN is typed in the SIM menu | Mobile-ID: more than 220,000 users in Estonia alone (August 2026)[10]; it also runs in Lithuania[2] |
| Wallet | A phone wallet holds signed credentials and shares what is asked | Italy's IT-Wallet: 10.1 million activations (February 2026)[11]; mobile driving licences from 22 US states and territories at TSA checkpoints[12] |
Smart-ID, another app, has about 3.85 million users in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (its Baltic counter).[5] Scheme guides: MitID, BankID Sweden, the Finnish Trust Network, Smart-ID, Mobile-ID, itsme and the German online ID.
How an eID sign-in works: four parties
The parties are the user, the business (the relying party), the identity provider and often a broker or gateway that speaks each scheme's protocol.
The user confirms with PIN or biometrics
A simplified redirect sign-in.
On one phone, a link hands the user to the eID app, which returns them after approval. On a desktop, the user scans a QR code; the rest is identical.[19] Either way, the business receives the attributes in a signed response and checks the signature.
In Finland, registered providers formed a trust network on 1 May 2017 and serve registered brokers.[8] The fee a broker pays an identity provider is capped by law at 3 cents per identification, and Traficom reviews the level yearly.[9]
Verify your identity
Choose how to prove who you are.
Sign in with your eID
Use an ID document instead
1The service offers the eIDs of the user's country first.
Check the request
This service asks for:
- Full nameShared
- Date of birthShared
2A link or QR code opens the eID app; a chip card is held to the phone. The app names the service and the data asked for.[3]
Confirm the sign-in
Enter your PIN in this app.
3Some schemes first show a code to match in the app. The user confirms with a PIN or biometrics in the app or SIM menu, never on the business's page.
Identity confirmed
- Full nameShared
- Date of birthShared
- AddressNot shared
4Back in the service, with signed attributes.
No eID
Scan your ID document and take a selfie instead.
Continue
5Without an eID, the flow switches to a document check.
Levels of assurance in electronic identification
eIDAS grades eID means as low, substantial or high. When a Member State notifies a scheme, the EU list records its level.[2] One scheme can offer several levels: Belgium's federal login rates a username and password as low, a password plus an SMS or app code as substantial, and the eID card as high.[13]
| Level | Examples on the EU list | What the law does with it |
|---|---|---|
| Low | The low tier of SPID and CIE (Italy)[2] | Below the AMLR eID route[23] |
| Substantial | Swedish eID, DigiD Substantieel, FranceConnect+ with La Poste, ROeID (Romania)[2] | Accepted under AMLR Article 22(6)(b)[23] |
| High | German eID card, itsme, ID Austria, Estonian ID card and Mobile-ID[2] | Accepted under AMLR; EUDI Wallets must be issued under a high scheme[1][23] |
Schemes not on the EU list
Many eIDs in daily use are not on the EU list, so not EU-notified. Examples include Smart-ID, the Finnish bank IDs, Lithuanian Mobile-ID and Spain's Cl@ve.[2] National law can still recognise them.
In the United States, NIST SP 800-63-4 sets its own assurance levels, in effect since 1 August 2025.[14] Our eID schemes by country guide lists the level of each European scheme.
eID vs document and selfie vs NFC chip reading
Electronic
eID sign-in
- The issuer signs the data
- Needs the eID and its PIN
- No image to judge
- Only for holders of that eID
AMLR Article 22(6)(b)
Optical
Document and selfie
- Software reads a photo of the document
- Liveness and face match bind it to the person
- Works with almost any document
- Security features judged from an image
AMLR Article 22(6)(a)
Chip
NFC chip reading
- The phone reads the chip's signed data
- A selfie is matched to the chip photo
- Needs a chipped document and NFC phone
- Chip ID cards exist in at least 100 countries (2022)[15]
AMLR Article 22(6)(a)
The guide to NFC chip security explains chip checks, and eID vs video ident covers the video route.
Countries where one eID reaches most adults
Below, one eID covers almost every adult and serves both banking and public services: Sweden's BankID is issued by banks, yet public services accept it too.[7]
| Country | eID | Coverage | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | BankID | 99.9% of Swedes aged 18 to 67 (2025) | 7.9 billion uses in 2025; half banking and finance, 6% public sector[7] |
| Denmark | MitID | 97.2% of Danes over 15 (April 2026) | 94.4 million transactions a month (2025)[4] |
| Singapore | Singpass | 97% of citizens and permanent residents 15+[17] | More than 41 million transactions a month (June 2026)[29] |
| India | Aadhaar | 1.34 billion live holders (March 2026) | More than 170 billion authentications to date[18] |
According to the World Bank, about 800 million people have no official ID and 2.8 billion have no digital ID they can use online.[16] Read more in national digital identity worldwide, Aadhaar eKYC, Singpass and Myinfo and mobile driving licences.
The EUDI Wallet in one section
The EUDI Wallet is an eID means. Every Member State must provide at least one by 24 December 2026, free to people and voluntary to use.[1] It holds person identification data (PID) and shares what the user approves.
- 24 December 2026Wallets dueAt least one per Member State.
- 10 July 2027AMLR applieseID becomes an EU-wide due diligence route.
- 24 December 2027AcceptanceRegulated businesses accept the wallet.
- 11 August 2028PortraitThe portrait joins the mandatory PID; optional until then.
Dates from the Regulation and its implementing acts.[1][20][23]
The 2027 duty covers sectors such as banking, energy and health, at the user's request; micro and small enterprises are exempt. Very large online platforms must accept the wallet too, with no separate date in Article 5f(3).[1]
The PID comes as SD-JWT VC or ISO/IEC mdoc[20], presented with OpenID for Verifiable Presentations (OpenID4VP) or ISO/IEC 18013-7 under the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) v3.0.0 of 23 July 2026.[19] Germany's state wallet is due in early 2027.[22] More in EUDI Wallet deadlines and becoming a relying party.
AMLR puts electronic identification first
The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, applies from 10 July 2027. Its Article 22(6) gives two ways to verify a customer's identity: (a) an identity document, or (b) eID at substantial or high with relevant qualified trust services.[23]
Article 22(6)(b)Regulation (EU) 2024/1624
"the use of electronic identification means which meet the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 with regard to the assurance levels 'substantial' or 'high' and relevant qualified trust services as set out in that Regulation."
Source: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624[23]
The Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) sent its final draft standards on customer due diligence to the Commission on 30 September 2026; they are not law yet. Recital 11 of AMLA's draft says eID means "should be used wherever possible", notified or not, EUDI Wallets included. Article 7(3) of the draft asks a business to be able to justify why a customer could not be verified through the Article 22(6) means. Both apply only if the draft becomes law.[24]
1Offer the customer's eID first
Substantial or high.
The customer can use an eID
Verify with eID
Article 22(6)(b) route.
Verify with a document
Record why eID was not possible.
2Fill the gaps and screen
Address, sanctions, risk rating.
More in remote onboarding with eID under AMLR.
Privacy and selective disclosure
Selective disclosure means presenting only the attributes a service asked for. A document photo shows every field; an eID can hold the rest back.
- Under eIDAS Article 5a(4)(a), the EUDI Wallet must make selective disclosure possible; under Article 5b(3), a relying party may not ask for data beyond what it registered.[1]
- The SD-JWT VC and mdoc formats hide each attribute behind a salted hash until the user releases it.[19]
- The Dutch government says a wallet can share only that someone is over 18, without the date of birth.[25]
For age checks, see age verification with EU eIDs.
When eID is not enough
An eID proves identity; it does not finish customer due diligence.
| Gap | Why | What fills it |
|---|---|---|
| Address | Optional in the PID[21] | Another reliable source; AMLA's draft asks for missing attributes by other means[24] |
| Tax number | Not in the PID[21] | A separate source |
| Face | The PID portrait is optional until 11 August 2028[20] | Liveness and a face match |
| People without that eID | An eID covers only its holders; Iceland's SIM eID needs an Icelandic number and in-person activation[26] | Document and chip route |
| Risk | Identity is not a risk rating | Sanctions and PEP screening, ongoing monitoring |
How Didit helps with electronic identification
Didit runs national eID sign-ins and the document route in one workflow. Five eIDs are live today across seven countries: MitID, BankID Sweden, the Finnish Trust Network, Smart-ID and Mobile-ID. Each returns full name, date of birth, a national identifier (pseudonymised for MitID), the level of assurance and a signature check; no address or portrait.[27] Turn them on in the console under Workflows, ID Verification, Countries, Wallets accepted.
eID sign-ins are billed per completed sign-in: MitID, Finnish Trust Network $0.25; BankID Sweden, Smart-ID, Mobile-ID $0.20 (pricing page). Users without an eID fall back to a separate route: document capture with NFC chip reading, liveness and face match, at document-route prices: full KYC check $0.33, NFC verification $0.15, AML screening $0.20. More schemes are on our roadmap.
| eID | Kind | Countries | Didit level | Didit status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MitID | App | Denmark | Substantial | Live |
| BankID Sweden | Bank ID | Sweden | Substantial | Live |
| Finnish Trust Network | Bank ID | Finland | Substantial | Live |
| Smart-ID | App | Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium | High | Live |
| Mobile-ID | SIM | Estonia, Lithuania | High | Live |
| itsme | App | Belgium | Not set | Coming soon |
| German eID card (Personalausweis) | Chip card | Germany | Not set | Coming soon |
| Cl@ve | Account | Spain | Not set | On request |
itsme and the German eID card are coming soon; Didit adds Cl@ve on request. EUDI Wallet acceptance is coming soon on the same workflow; see the EUDI Wallet page.
Didit provides
- eID sign-ins in the hosted flow or SDK
- The document route for everyone else
- Signed attributes and evidence of every check
Stays with you
- The choice of which eIDs to accept
- The risk assessment and the policies
- The onboarding decision
Put national eIDs in your sign-up
Turn on the eIDs your users carry and pay only for completed checks.
Key takeaways
- eIDAS grades eIDs as low, substantial or high; AMLR accepts substantial and high.
- EUDI Wallets are due by 24 December 2026; regulated businesses accept them by 24 December 2027.
Frequently asked questions
What does a business receive from an eID sign-in?
Signed attributes, limited to what the scheme lets it see. The German online ID sends only the attributes the business's authorisation certificate allows, plus the card's validity and revocation status.[3] In the EUDI Wallet PID, the address is optional.[21]
What are the eIDAS levels of assurance?
Low, substantial and high. The EU list of notified schemes records the level of each scheme.[2] The AMLR eID route accepts only substantial or high.[23]
Is every national eID notified under eIDAS?
No. Smart-ID, the Finnish bank IDs, Lithuanian Mobile-ID and Spain's Cl@ve, for example, are not on the EU list.[2] AMLA's final draft standards accept eID at substantial or high whether notified or not, but they are not law yet.[24]
Can a private company use a national eID for KYC?
Often yes, through a broker or the scheme's business programme. From 10 July 2027 the AMLR lets obliged entities verify identity with eID at substantial or high.[23] Some schemes, such as Spain's Cl@ve, are built for public administrations, so check each scheme's rules.[28]
When do businesses have to accept the EUDI Wallet?
By 24 December 2027, if law or contract requires them to use strong user authentication. Acceptance applies only when the user asks for it, and micro and small enterprises are exempt.[1]
Does an eID return the user's address and photo?
Often not. Address is optional in the EUDI Wallet PID, and the portrait is optional until 11 August 2028.[20][21] Plan another address source, and a face match when you need a face.
How many countries have a national digital ID?
According to the World Bank, 89 countries, about 45%, offer at least one government-recognised credential that works for remote authentication. ID cards with a chip exist in at least 100 countries (2022 data).[15]
How much does eID verification cost?
It depends on the scheme and the route. Some fees are set in law: in Finland, the fee a broker pays an identity provider is capped at 3 cents per identification.[9] Most others are commercial, so compare prices per completed sign-in. Didit charges $0.20 or $0.25.
Can an eID prove age without sharing the date of birth?
Some can. The German online ID can answer whether a person is over or under an age, if the business's certificate allows it.[3] The Dutch government says a wallet can share only that someone is over 18.[25]
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS 2), EUR-Lex, Official Journal of 30 April 2024.
- Overview of pre-notified and notified eID schemes under eIDAS, European Commission, read 5 October 2026.
- Section 18 PAuswG, electronic proof of identity, German Identity Card Act.
- Figures and statistics, Danish Agency for Digital Government, MitID figures updated 16 April 2026.
- Smart-ID, SK ID Solutions, live user counter read 5 October 2026.
- itsme grows to eight million users, Belgian Mobile ID, 17 March 2026.
- BankID in numbers, BankID, 2025 figures.
- Electronic identification, Traficom National Cyber Security Centre Finland.
- Act 617/2009 on strong electronic identification and trust services, Finlex.
- Mobile-ID users must replace their SIM card, id.ee, 6 August 2026.
- IT-Wallet passes 10 million activations, Department for Digital Transformation, Italy, 17 February 2026.
- Digital ID participating states, US Transportation Security Administration.
- FAS privacy notice, Belgian FPS Policy and Support (BOSA).
- NIST Special Publication 800-63-4, Digital Identity Guidelines, NIST.
- ID4D Global Dataset, World Bank.
- Global progress in identification: findings from the latest data, World Bank blog.
- Singpass factsheet, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Singapore.
- Aadhaar figures, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 18 March 2026.
- Architecture and Reference Framework v3.0.0, European Commission EUDI Wallet project, 23 July 2026.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1731, EUR-Lex, Official Journal of 22 July 2026.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2977 on person identification data, EUR-Lex, Official Journal of 4 December 2024.
- EUDI Wallet FAQ, German Federal Government.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR), EUR-Lex, Official Journal of 19 June 2024.
- Final Report, draft RTS under Article 28(1) AMLR, AMLA, 30 September 2026.
- ID wallet, Dutch government, NL Digital Government.
- Electronic IDs, Auðkenni, Iceland.
- Digital ID wallets, Didit documentation.
- What is Cl@ve, Government of Spain.
- Singpass factsheet, 30 June 2026, Government of Singapore.
Compare national eIDs scheme by scheme on the eID verification page, and see what changes when the EUDI Wallet arrives. Country guides start with Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain and Italy.
One workflow for every eID your users carry
Live eIDs today, documents as the fallback.
Related articles
- Cl@ve integration in Spain: who can connect and what to use instead
- PhilSys verification: how businesses check the National ID
- OpenID4VP verifier guide: accepting the EUDI Wallet
- eIDAS regulation explained: what eIDAS 2 (2024/1183) changes
- Smart-ID API: a developer's guide to RP API v3
- National digital identity worldwide: models, leaders, standards