European Union According to the EU
electronic identification and trust services (eIDAS) Regulation, described as a pan-European login system, all organizations delivering public digital services in an EU member state shall accept electronic identification from all EU member states from 29 September 2018.
Austria Austria has initially issued eIDs ("Bürgerkarte") via its national health insurance card (eCard), but has later introduced an app-based solution ("Handy-Signatur"). Electronic signatures were deemed equivalent to handwritten signatures since January 2000. As of 5 December 2023, the Handy-Signatur and the Bürgerkarte (Citizen Card) have been upgraded and replaced by "ID Austria", which offers enhanced digital identification and authentication capabilities. More than 2 Million people are enrolled in ID Austria. It interconnects with eIDAS systems from other EU Member States. It is widely used for government online services, but also increasingly by the private sector.
Belgium Belgium has been issuing eIDs since 2003, and all identity cards issued since 2004 have been electronic, replacing the previous
plastic card.
Chip contents The eID card contains a chip containing: • the same information as legible on the card • the address of the card holder • the identity - and signature keys and certificates • fingerprints • place of birth
Using the eID At home, the users can use their electronic IDs to log into specific websites (such as Tax-on-web, allowing them to fill in their tax form online). To do this the user needs • an eID card • a smartcard reader • the eID middleware software When other software (such as an
Internet Browser) attempts to read the eID, the users are asked for confirmation for this action, and potentially even for their
PIN. a "Kids ID" has been introduced for children below this age, on a strictly voluntary basis. This ID, beside containing the usual information, also holds a contact number that people, or the child themselves, can call when they, for example, are in danger or had an accident. The card can be used for electronic identification after the age of six, and it does not contain a signing certificate as minors cannot sign a legally binding document. An important goal of the Kids-ID card is to allow children to join "youth-only" chat sites, using their eID to gain entrance. These sites would essentially block any users above a certain age from gaining access to the chat sessions, effectively blocking out potential
pedophiles.
Bulgaria Bulgaria introduced a limited scale proof-of-concept of electronic identity cards, called ЕИК (Eлектронна карта за идентичност), in 2013. ===
Croatia=== Croatia introduced its electronic identity cards, called
e-osobna iskaznica, on 8 June 2015.
Denmark Electronic identities in Denmark, issued by banks and the government jointly, is named MitID. The former eID,
NemID, was deprecated as of October 2023. MitID authentication allows larger payments in
MobilePay - a service used by more than half of the population as of 2017.
Estonia The
Estonian ID card, issued since 2002, is also used for authentication for Estonia's
Internet-based voting system. In February 2007, Estonia was the first country to allow for electronic voting for parliamentary elections. Over 30,000 voters participated in the country's e-election. At end of 2014 Estonia extended the Estonian ID Card to non-residents. The target of the project is to reach 10 million residents by 2025, which is 8 times more than the Estonian population of 1.3 million.
Finland The Finnish electronic ID was first issued to citizens on 1 December 1999. Electronic identities in Finland are issued by banks. They make it possible to log into Finnish authorities, universities and banks, and to make larger payments using the MobilePay mobile payment service. The
mobiilivarmenne is utilizing the mobile phone SIM card for authentication, and is financed by a fee to the mobile network operator for each authentication.
France since 2021, France has rolled out a physical chip enabled ID card (Carte Nationale d'Identité or CNI as a short) with a ISO ID-1 profile. The mobile application France Identité provides eID mobile features such as authentication on the identity federation portal (France Connect) as well as multiple factor authentication thru another portal (France Connect +) to access multiple administration and non administration websites in France. The app is initiated using the CNI. It also serves as a digital wallet to store personal credentials (driving licences, car documents, etc) and it can generate a document to prove identity in a secure way without sending a copy of the documents (Justificatif d'identité à usage unique). Previous ID cards are being phased out and new cards are being provided free.
Germany Germany introduced its electronic identity cards, called
Personalausweis, in 2010.
Greece Greece introduced a new generation of electronic identity cards (Δελτίο Ταυτότητας νέου τύπου) starting in 2023, replacing the older paper-based identity cards. The new cards include an embedded contactless electronic chip containing the holder’s personal and biometric data, and are compliant with ICAO and EU security standards. The
electronic Greek ID card is intended for secure identification and authentication, both in physical and digital contexts, and is designed to support access to e-government services. In parallel, Greece has developed a digital identity framework through the government platform gov.gr, including mobile-based digital credentials via Gov.gr Wallet, which can be used for identification in selected public and private sector services. The rollout of the new electronic identity cards is being carried out gradually nationwide.
Iceland In Iceland, electronic IDs (Icelandic:
Rafræn skilríki) are extensively used by the public and private sector today and were first introduced in 2008. The most widely used version today is on a
mobile phone - with the authentication key held on a SIM card. In Iceland 95% of the eligible population (13 years or older) has an active eID, including 75% of over 75s. Icelandic eID holders used their eID more than 20 times a month in 2021. During enrollment, users create a PIN. Each time they need to identify, verify or sign something online, a prompt via
flash SMS is initiated and the PIN code is validated. Today this system is used by all banks, government services (island.is portal), healthcare, eductation, document signing and over 300 private companies using for customer page logins (linked to the
Icelandic ID no.). Since the only thing to remember is one's PIN code and their phone, it is very prevalent, and works as a sort of
single-sign-on service. They are administered by Auðkenni hf., which was initially created by a consortium of banks but is now owned by the government. The first form of the system in 2008 was a special
smartcard with an
EMV chip, paired with a smartcard reader on the client's computer. The smartcard was first introduced in late 2008 for employees of government departments, large companies and the healthcare system. It was rolled out to all departments and companies handling sensitive data. It was also possible to store one's eID on a debit card. In November 2013 the SIM card implementation for mobile phones was introduced, which led to a much quicker take-up of eIDs due to its ease of use. By 2014, 40% of Icelanders were using eIDs.
Italy Italy introduced its electronic identity cards, called ''Carta d'Identità Elettronica
(in Italy identified with the acronym CIE''), to replace the
paper-based ID card in Italy. Since 4 July 2016, Italy is in the process of renewing all ID cards to electronic ID cards.
Latvia eID and eSignature service provider in Latvia is called eParaksts
Malta Since 12 February 2014, Malta is in the process of renewing all ID cards to electronic ID cards.
Netherlands Electronic identities in Netherlands are called
DigiD and Netherlands is currently developing an eID scheme.
Norway Electronic identities in Norway issued by banks are called
BankID (different than Sweden's BankID). They make it possible to log into Norwegian authorities, universities and banks, and to make larger payments using the
Vipps mobile payment service, used by more than half of the population as of 2017.
Romania Since 25 May 2023, Romanians are able to use their national ID to sign up to the RoEID application which allows them to access public services
Spain Electronic identity cards in Spain are called
DNIe and have been issued since 2006.
Switzerland SwissID, developed by SwissSign, is a certified digital ID in Switzerland offered since 2017 (2010–17 as SuisseID). As a base for a new
Federal Act on Electronic Identification Services (e-ID Act), an eID-concept had been developed by the authorities, yet experts criticized its technology part. The law was accepted by the Swiss parliament on 29 September 2019. It would have updated current legislation and would have continued to allow private companies or public organizations to issue eIDs if certified by a new federal authority. However, an optional
referendum called for a public vote on this issue in the weeks until Sunday, 7 March 2021. The vote resulted in 35.6% Yes and 64.4% No, rejecting the proposed new law. In 2025, a revised version of the law was approved by the public with the eID becoming available in 2026. SwissSign might develop the SwissID further, to make it compatible with future E-ID regulations.
Sweden The most widespread electronic identification in Sweden is issued by banks and called
BankID (different than Norwegian BankID). The BankID may be in the form of a certificate file on disk, on card or on smart phones. The latter (Swedish
mobile BankID service) was used by 84 percent of the Swedish population in 2019. A Mobile BankID login does not require a fee since the service is provided by banks rather than mobile operators. It can be used both for authentication within various apps and web services on the same smart phone, and also for web pages on other devices. It also supports fingerprint and
face recognition authentication on compatible iOS and Android devices. Electronic IDs are used for secure web login to Swedish authorities, banks, health centers (allowing people to see their medical records and prescriptions and book doctors visits), and companies such as pharmacies. Mobile BankID also allows the
Swish mobile payment service, utilized by 78 percent of the Swedish population in 2019, at first mainly for payments between individuals. BankID was previously used for university applications and admissions, but this was prohibited by
Swedbank since universities utilized the system for distribution of their own student logins. Increasingly, BankID is used as an added security for signing contracts.
Usage of eID systems in Europe The adoption of eIDs varies per EU Member State. While some countries mainly rely on government eID systems, others have dominant private or public-private systems, like eIDs managed by banks. The table below provides an overview over eID adoption in various countries. ==eID in other countries==