It is to all intents and purposes a wallet (wallet, precisely in English) but digital. From today on appIO it will in fact be possible to upload some documents which will thus be dematerialized, while maintaining the same identical value as the physical ones (they can, so to speak, be shown to a public official).
The tool will be fully operational by 2025 for the entire population (approximately 44.5 million people considering that only citizens who have reached the age of 18 can access it).
A first test has already been carried out by a small group of the population. The first 50 thousand people were selected to “test” the service on October 23rd. Share rose to 250 thousand on November 6th and, finally, to one million on November 20th. Then by 2026 IT Wallet it will then be integrated into the European digital wallet (Eudi Wallet) and will be usable in all European Union countries.
It should be reiterated that it is not a mandatory tool and that citizens remain free to continue to use physical documents exclusively.
What documents can be inserted?
To insert the documents (and always have them available in a digital version but with the same validity as the physical ones) simply use the appIO and add them to the Wallet. For the moment it is only possible to add three documents:
- Driving license,
- Health card
- European Disability Charter.
It is sufficient to authorize the insertion and the app will then contact the issuing body of the document for the necessary checks.
The AGI editorial team tested the insertion process and while there were no problems with the driving license, there were some problems with the health card, perhaps due to the high number of applications in progress.
It should be remembered that the digital version of the documents can currently only be used in Italy with full legal value. You can then show your digital driving license to the police in the event of a roadside check or you can show your health card at the pharmacy to purchase medicines or book visits. But for the moment only within the national territory.
“After two years of constant and discreet work, the government has taken the first step towards the creation of the IT-Wallet System, a digital revolution that I have strongly supported since I took office and which will be fully operational in 2025 – declared the undersecretary of Presidency of the Council with responsibility for technological innovation Alessio Butti – With the introduction of the IT-Wallet, and anticipating the times of the European EIDAS 2 regulation, Italy is embarking on an ambitious path towards the evolution of digital services. This tool will offer citizens new opportunities for using their digital identity, while ensuring maximum security and protection of personal data.”
The next steps towards the digitalisation of documents will include the integration of the system with the European wallet (Eudi Wallet) with thealso extended to passport, birth certificate and electoral card. The entire project will cost the State just over 300 million euros for the three-year period 2024-2026.