• Michele Centemero, EVP Services Europe at Mastercard


• 04.08.2025 10:15 am
#DigitalIdentity #Europe

Whether opening a bank account, accessing government services or buying age-restricted goods online, people are often asked to verify basic details like age or location. Yet too often, this process is slow, confusing or invasive. It shouldn’t be that way. 

Today, identity verification should be as quick, simple and trustworthy as tapping a card to pay. But the reality is stark: According to the EU Agency for Cybersecurity, identity theft now accounts for over 40% of online fraud in Europe. And a recent study shows more than 60% of Europeans experience friction during ID checks — often leading to abandoned transactions and lost trust. 

That’s why momentum is building around a more streamlined, privacy-centric approach to identity in Europe. With over 500 million citizens accessing everything from financial services to government portals, there’s a clear need for a trusted, consistent way to prove who we are- digitally and securely. That is the current vision behind the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet designed to deliver it. By 2030, the European Commission expects up to 80% of EU citizens could use it for everyday tasks like renting a car, signing a lease or verifying age online as a seamless alternative for secure authentication (SCA) and more.

At Mastercard, we are working to support this evolution. We believe digital identity should feel as natural and reliable as making a payment. Just as we’ve helped make payments simple and secure worldwide, we’re bringing that same approach to Europe’s digital identity ecosystem — starting with ensuring age verification works smoothly and protects everyone.

We are actively contributing to industry-wide initiatives funded by the European Commission to pilot the EUDI Wallets as envisioned by the regulation. As an advisory partner in the NOBID project, we’ve helped define secure, user-friendly payment use cases. In parallel, we are also a partner in WE BUILD Consortium, another Large-Scale Pilot, where we will be collaborating with nearly 200 partners to test real-world applications in consumer and business banking, including payments.    

Our collaboration with identity innovators like Lissi is focused on securely tokenizing our payment credentials and integrating them into EUDI Wallets. This effort supports a trusted, interoperable digital identity ecosystem across Europe and aligns with our broader strategy to unlock the full potential of the EUDI infrastructure. By doing so, we aim to integrate card-based payments into EUDI wallets, harmonize strong customer authentication (SCA) and support enriched transactions that combine payment credentials with verified attributes such as age, student status, or residency. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure Mastercard credentials remain universally accessible, embedded in the identity frameworks of the future — and trusted by consumers, businesses, and governments alike.

To build a secure and consistent global identity ecosystem, Mastercard plays an active role in shaping international standards. We are engaged across key global bodies – including EMVCo, the FIDO Alliance and most recently, as a premier member of the OpenWallet Foundation, hosted by Linux Foundation Europe. 

In a world where AI is advancing and cyber threats are growing; trust online isn’t optional — it’s essential. Mastercard has helped merchants and banks assess risk using details like names and payment info, supporting billions of secure digital transactions with the EMV 3D Secure protocol. In June 2024, Mastercard implemented new EMVCo specifications to upgrade this system with a new Identity Attribute Verification service, allowing banks to confirm extra cardholder details like age, birthdate, and address to improve security.

This builds on decades of securing billions of online transactions annually through 3D Secure. By making identity checks smarter and less intrusive, we want everyone — whether shoppers, banks or merchants — to feel safe and confident online.  

We are also helping build trust at the national level. For example, in the U.K., Mastercard is certified under the U.K.’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework as an identity provider, meeting national standards for security, data protection and user content. In addition, Mastercard can integrate with Gov.UK Wallet infrastructure to facilitate identity attribute verification in the U.K., enabling certified businesses to use identity attributes sourced directly from a user’s wallet.  

From accessing government services to protecting consumers online, digital identity will soon touch every part of our lives. The success of this ecosystem depends on one crucial thing: trust.  

Through ongoing investments in biometric authentication, AI-powered fraud detection and privacy-by-design solutions, we’re helping build the confidence Europe needs to lead in the digital age.