The current focus of digital identity for citizens covers C2G and C2B but does not extend to B2B, B2G, or B2Banks, nor to the exchange of digital data with the private sector via the Company Passport.
Banks and enterprises are eager to see the business use cases of wallets reflected in legislation. The eIDAS 2.0 legislation, which was introduced in April 2024, mainly focuses on the natural persons wallet and a high adoption rate among citizens interacting with governments, relying parties and banks. However, as Mark Hanhart, Innovation & Design Expert at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. explains in this interview, the business-to-business realm needs to be prioritised within wallets and legislation too.
Hanhart expanded on the key points of his presentation at Identity Week Europe 2025 to offer a banking perspective on why the interoperability of eIDAS 2.0 is in the interests of businesses for convenience, as well as citizen services. Businesses need legal certainty which eIDAS 2.0 provides and this has led to the creation of the Company Passport.
The “technology and platform there for citizens (in eIDAS 2.0) will thrive for businesses”, he says simply.
In the Netherlands, the company passport exists that ensures data can be exchanged from business to business more efficiently via machine to machine, keeping costs down and being legally binding.
Organisations, such as banks, need a digital identity, in the form of the Company Passport, to verify other organisations in B2Business and B2Bank transactions as well as B2C.
Companies hold AML-standard KYC in their own wallet. Whereas companies currently come to banks filling in their data manually or being sourced from a register, eIDAS wallets will have the information, enabling machine-to-machine interaction passing along data.
ARTICLE UPDATE on January 29, 2025 – The announcement of a European Business Wallet as a flagship initiative in the European Commission EU Competitiveness Compass 2025 was made on January 29, 2025. Also called the Competitiveness Compass, the Business Wallet will drive business “digitally” and “simply” around EU member states and build the interoperability between digital economies. The mandate outlines a strategic and clear framework on what is eventually expected of each countries’ infrastructure for the legal persons wallet.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY TODAY – WHY NOT SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER? IT’S FREE.
