Latvia develops first pilot project app for European Digital Identity Wallet

The NOBID pilot project co-financed by the European Union (EU) has been completed, during which a prototype of the European Digital Identity Wallet (EDIM) was developed in Latvia. The EU Digital Identity Wallet will be a mobile electronic identification tool that allows citizens to store identity documents, such as driver’s licenses or educational documents, to control their personal data in detail when submitting it to various service providers, to verify their identity, and to make payments in a secure manner.

Raimonds Čudars, Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development: “By participating in this pilot project, Latvia has demonstrated its digital maturity. The digital identity card is not just a technology – it is a tool that will bring additional convenience to residents, create new opportunities for business, and make public services more accessible to everyone. Our goal is for Latvia to be among the leaders in the unified European digital market, and this project is a step in that direction.”

The EU Digital Identity Wallet is intended to address the main challenges currently facing EU digital identification, which are manifested in the technical fragmentation of Member States’ solutions and the lack of solutions, limiting the availability of electronic services at cross-border level. As part of the pilot project, a test version of a mobile app has been developed that allows users to store documents, perform operations with them, and authorize payments online, offline, and in person. The solution is based on the Architecture and Reference Framework developed by the European Commission, thus ensuring a uniform approach across the EU. The project has made it possible to test the functionality of the future EU digital identity wallet and to promote international cooperation with experts from other Member States, facilitating the exchange of views and the adoption of good practices. The developed solution is freely available as open source code for download from the Github website NOBID LSP-Latvia: NOBID LSP-Latvia · GitHub

Ģirts Ozols, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian State Radio and Television Center: “The digital identity wallet pilot project in Latvia demonstrated how important it is, when introducing new solutions, to understand both user habits and needs, as well as the ability of e-service providers to develop services and solutions that comply with new European Union requirements.

The Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) has been providing eSignature and trust services for 17 years, which is also a prerequisite for the secure operation of the digital wallet. It is important to realize that not only for citizens, but also for data providers and recipients, the primary criterion for using a solution is the reliability of data integrity and data protection.

The LVRTC trust services team has accumulated significant expertise, which we were pleased to pass on to the consortium. By providing a reliable technical foundation and a secure testing environment, LVRTC made a significant contribution to building understanding of the technical and functional requirements of a unified digital identity wallet.

Several important partners participated in the implementation of the pilot project in Latvia, each making a significant contribution. While the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) acted as the national coordinator, LVRTC developed a prototype of the digital identity wallet (EDIM), in which three national use cases were successfully integrated and tested: SEB Bank provided the payment scenario, Riga Technical University (RTU) provided the integration of educational documents, and the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) participated in the functionality testing as an associate partner. Given that the main objective of the NOBID pilot project was to provide and test payment functionality in the EU Digital Identity Wallet, extensive consultations were held with representatives of the financial sector, regulators, and users, which allowed for the identification of key aspects regarding functionality, security, user experience, and the ecosystem’s compliance with the needs of the sector. Industry experts from the Bank of Latvia, the Finance Latvia Association, and LIKTA participated in the Latvian pilot project’s Advisory Board.

Ivars Miezis, Director of the RTU Information Technology Department: “RTU has successfully completed a project to develop solutions for improving the accessibility of digital education documents. The results of the project and the experience gained will serve as a basis for further development of the European digital identity wallet, promoting secure and convenient access to educational documents in the digital environment. RTU continues to be actively involved in digital transformation processes, promoting innovation and cooperation between the academic environment and public administration institutions.

Jans Orbitāns, Project Manager of the CSDD Information Technology Department: “The Road Traffic Safety Directorate has successfully completed a comprehensive testing phase of Latvia’s European digital identity wallet solution, paying particular attention to testing and improving the functionality of the mobile driver’s license (mDL). During the project, the operation of the mDL, which will become an essential everyday solution for all Latvian residents with the entry into force of the new European Union driver’s license directive and the introduction of mobile driver’s licenses throughout Europe, was successfully evaluated and tested. The CSDD will continue to purposefully expand its experience and strengthen its digital competencies to ensure that Latvian residents have the opportunity to use the digital identity wallet for mobile driver’s license verification in a timely manner. This will make it possible to verify your driver’s license not only in Latvia, but also in all European Union member states, thus promoting the convenient and secure use of digital identity on an international scale.”

Iļja Nogičevs, Head of Baltic Products and Digital Channels at SEB Bank: “Participation in the NOBID pilot project has been a great experience for SEB Bank, allowing us to actively engage in the development of an innovative and global solution that forms the basis for the future of European digital identity. In cooperation with Latvian and European partners, we have tested the payment functionality, which is an essential part of the digital identity wallet. This project confirms the importance of close cooperation between the financial sector, government institutions and technology experts in order to jointly create a secure and user-friendly digital environment. SEB Bank will continue to actively participate in the digital transformation of Europe by developing solutions that meet customer needs and strengthen trust in digital services.

The project was implemented as part of the Digital Europe program. The national EU Digital Identity Wallet app, which will be developed by the State Digital Development Agency, is expected to be available to Latvian residents by the end of 2026.

The NOBID pilot project was implemented from April 1, 2023, to August 31, 2025, in cooperation with Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, and Italy.