The European Union would unveil plans on Wednesday for a so-called digital wallet, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. For example, with an app yet to be built, citizens could securely store passwords and pay bills.
Citizens should be able to access a range of websites in the app with a single login. Now they often have to use different login details for governments and companies.
The app should make it possible to pay bills in a safe way, for example an energy bill. The wallet must soon be accessible with, among other things, a fingerprint or a scan of the eye. The app could also be used as a safe to digitally store official documents, such as a driver’s license.
Brussels is said to be in talks with the member states about the technical standards that the app must meet. In any case, the EU wants to prevent companies that have access to users’ data from using the wallet to promote new products, for example.
The digital wallet should be fully operational in about a year. Its use is not mandatory.