ID Wallet

ID Wallet was a digital identity project launched in 2021 by the German Federal Government as part of their initiative to create a national digital identity ecosystem. The wallet implemented Self-Sovereign Identity principles and was built on the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model standard, allowing users to store and manage their digital identity credentials on their smartphones.

The project's first major pilot focused on enabling digital hotel check-ins, partnering with major German companies including Deutsche Bahn, Lufthansa, Robert Bosch GmbH, and hotel chains like Steigenberger Hotels AG and Motel One GmbH. The implementation allowed business travelers to:

• Share their identity credentials digitally during check-in
• Transfer their registration address
• Provide company billing information
• Complete the process contactlessly through their smartphone

While the project demonstrated the potential for public-private collaboration in digital identity infrastructure, with participation from 16 companies including 7 DAX-listed corporations, the initiative was eventually discontinued. The ID Wallet was designed to align with broader European digital identity initiatives and aimed to establish an ecosystem where users could maintain sovereign control over their identity credentials, though its implementation faced challenges that led to its termination.