2024 proved that building digital wallets isn't the hard part. The real challenge lies in getting governments, businesses, and citizens to understand their transformative potential beyond just reducing KYC costs.
Through my work with the Global Trust Foundation and engagement across Europe, I've witnessed both encouraging progress and concerning disconnects. While technical implementations advance rapidly, the broader ecosystem - from government engagement to public awareness - continues to lag behind.
This year brought into focus several critical realities:
The public sector approach requires fundamental restructuring. The European Commission's decision to delegate wallet initiatives primarily to Member States has resulted in fragmented progress, with some countries forging ahead while others merely tick compliance boxes.
The financial sector continues to view digital wallets through an unnecessarily narrow lens. Their focus on KYC cost reduction, while understandable, misses the broader societal benefits and opportunities that comprehensive digital identity solutions offer.
Most importantly, we risk creating excellent solutions that nobody uses - unless we dramatically increase public awareness and education now.
Three posts that sparked meaningful dialogue this year:
"Building State and Public Support for Real Digital Identity Wallets"
On why government and public education must start immediately
"Finance Industry and Digital Identity Wallets"
Examining the myopic view of digital wallets in financial services
"SMARTEX Discussion on EU Digital Identity Wallet"
Engaging the UK payments community in vital implementation dialogue
Through Global Trust Foundation's work, we've made progress in creating educational content and fostering deeper understanding of digital identity implementations. But 2024 has shown that technical excellence alone won't drive adoption.
Looking to 2025: Our focus must shift to building broader ecosystem engagement. This means working with stakeholders beyond the technical community, developing practical governance frameworks that balance innovation with accountability, and most crucially, making digital identity relevant and accessible to everyday citizens.
The technology is ready... now we must ensure society is ready to embrace it.
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