eIDAS 2.0 for banks: 2027 obligations, European wallet and NFC reading

Banks are on the front line of the eIDAS 2.0 regulation (EU 2024/1183). From the end of December 2027, they will have to accept the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) as a means of authentication, under Article 5f. Six months earlier, on 10 July 2027, the AMLR will already have recognised this wallet as a valid way to verify identity remotely. The subject is serious, but often poorly framed: the wallet will only solve part of your onboarding journey. And the technology that makes it possible, NFC reading of identity documents, is already within your reach. Here is what changes, date by date.

‍

The consolidated eIDAS 2.0 and AMLR timeline

‍

Three deadlines structure the period, all triggered by the entry into force of the regulation's implementing acts on 24 December 2024.

‍

End of December 2026: national wallets. Each member state must provide at least one wallet to its citizens. On the ground, rollout is uneven, but adoption is accelerating: Italy already has a wallet in production, the IT-Wallet, which has passed 10 million activations. In France, France Identité exceeds 4.5 million users, but is not yet certified as a European wallet. Germany has announced a launch in January 2027.

‍

10 July 2027: the AMLR applies. The anti-money-laundering regulation (EU 2024/1624) recognises wallet-based identification as equivalent to a face-to-face meeting for remote onboarding. The EBA's technical standards will specify the details.

‍

End of December 2027: acceptance becomes mandatory. Article 5f requires operators subject to strong authentication, banks first, to accept the wallet when a customer presents it. This is not an integration option, it is an obligation to accept. It also requires registration in a national register of relying parties, created by Regulation (EU) 2025/848.

‍

No official postponement has been published to date. It is the national implementations that are slipping, not the text.

‍

The wallet relies on NFC reading

‍

One point often flies under the radar: to issue a digital identity at the "high" level of assurance, a trust anchor is required. Either a physical face-to-face meeting, or the NFC reading of an identity document's chip. France Identité made this choice: activating the app starts with an NFC reading of the identity card.

‍

The chip in recent passports and identity cards (ICAO 9303 standard) contains the holder's full identity and photo, cryptographically signed by the issuing state. A fake document can fool the eye; it cannot imitate a state's signature. And since Regulation (EU) 2025/1208 of June 2025, private operators can read this chip with the customer's consent.

‍

For a bank, the consequence is direct: investing in NFC reading today is not a bet against the wallet. It means adopting now the trust building block on which the wallet itself is built, and which will remain essential for every customer without a wallet throughout the long transition period.

‍

What the wallet actually covers

‍

The wallet carries a PID (Person Identification Data): first name, last name, date of birth, nationality, with a "high" level of assurance. For a bank, that is a real gain on the identity building block. But across the whole journey, the wallet covers about 20% of the need. Three blind spots remain.

‍

Affordability

‍

A PID confirms who the customer is. It contains neither income, nor expenses, nor banking history. For any credit, checking repayment capacity remains a separate obligation. Open Banking remains the way to verify real income rather than declared income.

‍

Fraud after account opening

‍

An identity certified at day 0 does not protect at day 90. Account takeover, money mules, synthetic identities: these frauds play out in behaviour and weak signals, not in an attribute certified once. Continuous detection remains necessary well after onboarding.

‍

KYB

‍

The wallet is a device for natural persons. Shareholding structure, beneficial owners, insolvency proceedings: for any onboarding of a legal entity, KYB remains entirely the bank's responsibility.

‍

Four concrete situations

‍

Remote account opening. The customer photographs their card, then holds it against their phone for two seconds. The chip confirms the document's authenticity, and the selfie is compared with the signed photo on the chip. From 2027, the same customer will be able to present their wallet instead: the journey must accept both.

‍

Online credit application. This is fraudsters' favourite journey: an AI-generated fake document, a stolen identity. NFC reading filters out these files even before the affordability analysis.

‍

Sensitive operation on an existing account. Change of bank details, adding a beneficiary, new phone: an NFC re-read with a selfie re-certifies identity remotely in one minute, without a branch visit. Tomorrow, the wallet will play this role of strong authentication.

‍

Verification in branch or at a partner. The advisor places the customer's document on their own smartphone: authenticity verified in two seconds, without dedicated hardware. A case the wallet, designed for online journeys, will not cover for a long time.

‍

How to orchestrate wallet, NFC and existing journey

‍

The challenge of 2027 is not to replace your KYC, but to graft the wallet onto it without breaking what works. The target orchestration handles four cases: chip document available, read the NFC; no chip, switch to classic document and biometric verification; wallet presented (from 2027), accept it in line with Article 5f; business customer, trigger KYB. And in every case, affordability and fraud detection keep running, independently of the identity channel.

‍

eIDAS 2.0 checklist for banks

‍

• You know at which point in the journey the wallet can intervene, and what you expect from it.
• You know the share of your customers with a chip document (eID card, passport).
• Your identity verification includes NFC reading where the risk justifies it.
• Your orchestration automatically switches to a classic journey if the wallet or chip are absent.
• Your registration in the relying-parties register is anticipated, not discovered at end 2027.
• Your affordability (Open Banking) and fraud detection remain independent of the identity channel.
• Your KYB covers business customers and their beneficial owners.
• Every decision stays traced and documented, wallet or not.

‍

FAQ

‍

When will banks have to accept the European Wallet?
End of December 2027, under Article 5f of the eIDAS 2.0 regulation, i.e. 36 months after the entry into force of the implementing acts (24 December 2024).

‍

Does the wallet replace KYC?
No. It certifies the base identity. Affordability, post-onboarding fraud, KYB and AML/CFT due diligence obligations (CDD, EDD, screening, monitoring) remain the bank's responsibility.

‍

What is NFC reading of an identity document?
The reading, by a smartphone, of the chip embedded in recent passports and identity cards. The chip's data is signed by the issuing state, which makes the check tamper-proof. The private sector has had access since Regulation (EU) 2025/1208, with the holder's consent.

‍

Can a bank wait until 2027 to prepare?
That is risky. Registration in the relying-parties register, adapting journeys and raising the assurance level of identity verification all take time. And AI-generated document fraud justifies raising the level of control now.

‍

In conclusion

‍

The 2027 obligation is real and near, but it does not exempt any of the checks that make an onboarding journey robust. The wallet will secure base identity for customers who have adopted it. NFC reading offers the same level of assurance today, for every holder of a chip document. The right strategy is not to choose, it is to orchestrate.

‍

Meelo supports banks and fintechs in this orchestration: NFC reading, KYC, KYB, affordability and fraud detection in a single decision flow. Request a demo to assess your journey against the 2027 deadline.

‍

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2.0), Art. 5f; Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (AMLR); Regulation (EU) 2025/1208; Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/848; European Commission, European Digital Identity Wallet; France Identité (Ministry of the Interior); IT-Wallet / IO app (AgID, 2026).

‍