Kyle Patrick Camilleri
Monday, 18 August 2025, 09:39
Last update: about 2 hours ago
As a Member State within the European Union, Malta must launch a “digital wallet” for its citizens by December 2026, the chief executive of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) told The Malta Independent.
In this newspaper’s interview with MDIA CEO Kenneth Brincat, the digital innovation head outlined this project as one of the several things in his Authority’s pipeline. The MDIA is the government’s appointed wallet provider.
Following its implementation, once a person is requested to present an identity document, “individuals will freely choose whether to present their digital wallet or ID card or passport,” CEO Brincat stated.
Once launched, citizens will have the option to set up their digital wallet on their smartphones. The digital wallet will be set up as a mobile application, downloadable on all app stores. MDIA CEO Brincat added that “the use of this digital wallet is on a voluntary basis and it will be provided free of charge to individuals for non-professional use.” This app will not be pre-installed onto any mobile device upon or prior to its purchase, until a person decides to install it themselves. This digital wallet has not yet been given an official name so far.
Through this digital wallet, the idea is that users will be able to have an official, certified digital space where they may keep their identification details and store cards that would be kept in any day-to-day physical wallet.
“The digital wallet is a new means through which individuals can request, store and share attributes including person identification data (PID) such as Name, Surname, Nationality – a set of identity attributes that uniquely identifies individuals similar to the information on the ID card,” Brincat said.
As per the EU Regulation establishing the European Digital Identity Framework (2024/1183), by the end of next year, this digital identity wallet must be up and running with at least one’s identity and age verification features included by then, MDIA CEO Kenneth Brincat said.
“It’s like the Google Wallet, but instead of being a Google Wallet, imagine a ‘Malta Wallet’ that will also, officially, store your identity inside it,” he said.
Once enacted, citizens with a functioning digital wallet will be able to use this mobile application to show people, including enforcement officers like policemen, their ID cards upon request.
“If a police officer asks you for your ID card, you will not need to pull out and hand them your physical ID card, you’d be able to just show them your ID through your digital wallet,” Brincat explained.
The chief executive said that given the “very complex” nature of this project, this digital wallet will not be fully functionable by the end of 2026 – the time by which Maltese authorities must provide a minimum product for citizens.
Eventually, this digital wallet will allow users to insert their Tallinja cards, drivers’ license, as well as other cards typically stored in one’s physical wallet. The European Commission markets these EU digital identity wallets as things that “will simplify your life”; it notes that through it, people will be able to authorise payments, store and share education credentials, and even key travel documents like boarding passes alongside their official IDs.
Once the app has been downloaded, a person will be instructed to authenticate their identity to be able to onboard their personal identification details, so that the digital wallet will be “intrinsically linked” to an individual’s official identity. The MDIA is working so that once this project is launched, users can assure that their identification details are being stored securely; the Authority is doing this through the use of a Wallet Secure Cryptographic Device (WSCD).
Retaining one’s right to privacy is a central aspect of this digital wallet. Brincat said that on the presentation of one’s identification details through this software, one will be able to only share the information being requested. In this regard, he noted that when someone is requested to hand over their physical ID card at present, perhaps to confirm their age, they are giving away other personal details that are not relevant to what is being requested, such as their personal address, their personal ID number, etc.
Using a more frequently occurring example, Brincat said that whenever a bartender requests a youth’s ID card to verify their age before serving them alcohol, at that moment presently, youths are forced to hand over their ID, leaving their bartender “with more information than he should.” On the request to verify one’s age, the digital identity wallet can present that data point and conceal the rest of the data that is typically shown on someone’s ID card.
It is envisioned that when, for example, a police officer asks for a person to present identification, and the person presents their digital wallet, police officers will be able to prove its legitimacy through a contactless (NFC) check. Additionally, “should the individual not have any identification means available, then the same processes adopted today will still come into play.”
For persons who use more than one smartphone, the MDIA is currently examining whether individuals will be able to onboard their personal identification data onto multiple digital wallets. Brincat said that “this depends on both the specific wallet implementation and the PID issuance policies.” He added that while some set-ups may allow for this, under certain conditions, the MDIA is still reviewing the standards and constraints about this. Discussions on device binding for these digital wallets are still ongoing at EU level.
The first part of the interview was carried yesterday in The Malta Independent on Sunday.