A new scheme aimed at making it easier for people to apply for and access State services will move closer to being made publicly accessible next week when the app is made available for testing.
The development of the Government Digital Wallet is being overseen by the Office of the Government chief information officer. Set to be introduced by the end of the year, it will be open for testing from this week, with up to 10,000 people taking part.
What is a Digital Wallet?
They are a fairly common part of digital life these days. If you use your phone for contactless payments or have saved digital boarding cards or concert tickets to your smartphone, you have already used a digital wallet.
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The Government Digital Wallet, however, will be a secure way to store your important documents and prove your identity, from your MyGovID to, eventually, your driving licence, passport and birth certificate. It could also house your health records in one place, or store your European Health Insurance card.
The idea is that you will be able to use the digital documents with services – online and offline – to easily and securely verify your age, identity or to access certain services.
The plan hit the headlines earlier this year after some Government Ministers suggested that the Digital Wallet could be used to verify identity and age on social media networks and age-restricted websites. That sparked a debate on the merits of giving private companies access to such personal data and what it could mean for users in the future.
Do I have to use this Digital Wallet?
No. Once it is fully operational, the Digital Wallet will be strictly voluntary – not compulsory or mandatory, to paraphrase a former minister. EU rules say a digital wallet has to be an option, but it can’t be the only way to access services.
So if you prefer to keep your physical cards, certificates and other records, you will still be able to use them. Not everyone wants to – or can – use a smartphone app.
How do I get one?
If you decide to use it, the Government Digital Wallet will be downloaded as an app to your phone, available for both Google and Apple devices.
But it isn’t fully operational yet. The Government is conducting a test of the app, in advance of a full roll-out later in the year. If you want to sign up for an early look, go to the Government Digital Wallet site and sign up for the pilot. Up to 10,000 people will be able to take part.
What can it be used for?
Not a whole lot, because of the aforementioned testing phase. But the idea is to design the full app around “life events”: buying a house or moving home, having a baby, getting married, learning to drive and so on.
In the future, it could be used to sign up for a bank account or other services that require ID verification, but that is not the initial focus of the trial.
How does it work?
To sign up for the app, you will need a verified MyGovID, which will prove that you are who you say you are.
Once that has been established, you will be able to use it either for in-person face-to-face age checks, secure online age verification or secure online registration, replacing manual document uploads when opening an account. That can be done using the Digital Wallet app to scan a QR code, or automatically if you are doing everything on your smartphone.
It uses a principle known as zero-knowledge proof that shares only select information. For example, it can verify age without passing on your date of birth.
The key thing is that only the information needed for verification is shared, and the details that are being passed on are clearly outlined before you confirm that you are happy to proceed.
You can also see what your wallet has been used for by enabling transaction logging. Every time it is used to verify identity in whatever form, the app will record what data was sent and who requested it, along with the date.
Does it support other forms of ID?
Although the technical work to support digital IDs such as driving licences and passports has been done, the holdup is due to legislation to ensure that the digital IDs will be given the same treatment as physical licences and passports.
Why is it being brought in now?
Like many things in life these days, it is down to EU regulations. Member states must provide a digital wallet for public services by the end of the year; private services acceptance follows in 2027.
Who can access it?
Only those 16 and over can have a Government Digital Wallet, matching the age of digital consent in Ireland.
For now, the wallet only allows you to sign up with a verified MyGovID, which is linked to your PPS number, to use as an anchor ID. That may change over time as more IDs are enabled, but the plan is to initially roll it out to people who live in Ireland.
As for the organisations that will be able to use it as a verification tool, the initial plan is to make it available to public services. After that, financial institutions and other trusted private organisations may also be able to use it to verify identity.
It is also intended for use Europe-wide.
What about security?
You keep control over the data stored in your wallet. It isn’t uploaded to a cloud server or database, and it won’t be sent to Government agencies.
As for security measures to protect the app itself from prying eyes, when you set up the app, you will need to choose a passcode. And in case there is any doubt, it should not be the same as your phone’s passcode or your date of birth. Keep in mind: easy for you to remember, hard for someone else to guess.
You can also enable biometrics – usually facial recognition or fingerprints, depending on what your phone supports – and avoid the passcode route.
There is no two-factor authentication in the app, although it hasn’t been ruled out for the final version. So if you do go down the Digital Wallet route, you should be extra careful that no one is shoulder-surfing when you are unlocking the wallet app.
Can’t they just use Apple or Google’s digital wallet?
In the US, some states already allow citizens to save digital state IDs or driving licences to their smartphone’s wallet.
However, the Government Digital Wallet has to meet security and interoperability requirements laid down by the EU, including that zero-knowledge proof we mentioned earlier.
The app has been developed in partnership with Nearform, which also built the Covid Tracker app during the pandemic and the HSE app.
