🇬🇷EUDI Wallet Greece: What We Know So Far

What We Know About Greece's EUDI Wallet

Greece, with a population of 11 million, is preparing to implement the European Digital Identity Wallet as required by the eIDAS 2.0 regulation. While specific details about Greece's EUDI Wallet implementation have not been officially announced, several facts are clear based on EU law and Greece's existing digital infrastructure.

Legal Requirement (🟢 Verified)

Under the eIDAS 2.0 regulation (EU) 2024/1183, which entered into force in May 2024, all 27 EU member states must provide a European Digital Identity Wallet to their citizens by December 31, 2026. This is a binding legal requirement, not optional. Greece must comply with this deadline.

Existing Authentication System (🟢 Verified)

Greece currently operates Taxisnet, a national digital authentication system that enables citizens to access government services electronically. Taxisnet provides secure login for tax filing, social security, healthcare, and other public services. The EUDI Wallet will likely build upon or integrate with this existing Taxisnet infrastructure, using years of established digital identity experience.

Regulatory Deadline (🟡 Confirmed by Regulation)

The December 31, 2026 deadline is set by EU law. Greece must provide a wallet that meets the technical specifications defined in the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) version 2.7.3, which standardizes functionality across all EU member states.

What Is Not Yet Known

We believe in being honest about what information is not yet available. The following details have not been officially announced by Greece authorities:

Official Wallet Name (⚠️ Not Yet Announced)

Greece has not announced the official name for its EUDI Wallet. While "Gov.gr Wallet" is a logical name, this is speculation, not official confirmation. The wallet may integrate directly into the existing Taxisnet system or be branded separately.

Exact Launch Date (⚠️ Not Yet Announced)

Beyond the December 2026 regulatory deadline, Greece has not provided a specific launch date, pilot schedule, or rollout timeline. Some countries announce phased launches (pilot first, then gradual rollout), while others plan immediate availability—Greece's approach remains unclear.

Setup Process (⚠️ Not Yet Announced)

The activation process—how Greece citizens will set up their digital wallet—has not been disclosed. It will likely require existing government-issued credentials (ID card, passport, or Taxisnet account), but the specific steps are unknown.

Expected Functionality Based on EU Standards

Even without Greece-specific announcements, we know what functionality Greece's EUDI Wallet must provide, because all EU member states must comply with the same technical specifications (ARF 2.7.3):

Core Features (🟢 Verified from ARF Specifications)

• Identity Verification: Store and present digital identity for government services, banking, and age verification
• Banking KYC: From January 1, 2027, all banks and financial institutions must accept EUDI Wallet for customer identification (mandatory)
• Government Services: Access tax filing, healthcare, social security, business permits, and other public services
• Age Verification: Prove age for restricted purchases without revealing full birth date
• Cross-Border Recognition: Greece digital credentials recognized in all 27 EU member states
• Qualified Signatures: Sign legally binding documents digitally with the same legal force as handwritten signatures

What Should Greece Citizens Do Now?

While waiting for official announcements, Greece citizens can take the following steps:

1. Ensure you have a valid Greece ID card or passport — these will likely be required to activate the digital wallet
2. Familiarize yourself with Taxisnet — Greece's existing digital authentication system may be integrated with the EUDI Wallet
3. Monitor official sources — Check www.gov.gr for government announcements
4. Don't worry about missing the deadline — The wallet is optional; you can continue using physical documents

Gov.gr: Greece's Digital Transformation Story

Greece's digital government transformation is one of the most dramatic in the EU. Before 2020, Greece ranked last (27th out of 27) in the EU's Digital Economy and Society Index for e-government. Citizens routinely waited in line at government offices (KEP centers) for basic tasks like requesting birth certificates or registering businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic forced an abrupt shift, and the Greek government, under the Ministry of Digital Governance, launched Gov.gr as a unified digital services platform.

The transformation was rapid: Gov.gr went from launch in March 2020 to hosting over 1,500 digital government services by 2024. Greek citizens can now handle power of attorney authorizations, company registrations, vehicle transfers, pension applications, and building permits online. The platform processes millions of transactions monthly and has fundamentally changed how Greeks interact with government. This is relevant for the EUDI Wallet because Greece has demonstrated it can build and scale digital government infrastructure quickly when there is political will and technical leadership.

The Gov.gr Wallet: Greece's Head Start on Digital Identity

In July 2022, Greece launched the Gov.gr Wallet app, which already functions as a domestic digital identity wallet. Greek citizens can store digital copies of their national identity card (tautotita), driver's license, and vehicle registration certificate on their smartphones. The app uses a QR code verification system that allows police officers, businesses, and other verifiers to check the authenticity of the digital documents.

The Gov.gr Wallet achieved over 4 million downloads within its first year — a remarkable adoption rate for a country of 10.7 million. This existing infrastructure gives Greece a practical advantage for the EUDI Wallet transition: citizens are already accustomed to carrying digital identity documents on their phones, businesses already have QR verification workflows, and the government has operational experience managing a wallet-style application. The EUDI Wallet may effectively be an evolution of the Gov.gr Wallet, adding EU cross-border recognition and compliance with the eIDAS 2.0 technical specifications (ARF 2.7.3) that the current domestic app does not yet support.

myAADE and the Tax System: Digital Revenue Administration

Greece's Independent Authority for Public Revenue (Aneksartiti Archi Dimosion Esodon, or AADE) operates the myAADE digital platform, which has become the backbone of Greek tax administration. myAADE replaced the older Taxisnet system with a modernized platform that handles income tax returns, property tax (ENFIA) declarations, VAT filings, and business registration.

Every Greek taxpayer has an AFM (Arithmos Forologikou Mitroou, tax identification number), which serves as a de facto universal identifier for financial transactions. The myAADE platform processes over 6 million annual tax returns digitally. For the EUDI Wallet, the integration with myAADE is significant: the wallet could store verifiable tax residency certificates, income attestations, and other fiscal documents that Greek citizens currently need to request manually when dealing with foreign tax authorities or opening bank accounts in other EU countries. The wallet could also simplify the identification step when filing taxes, replacing the current AADE login with wallet-based authentication.

Greece's Post-COVID Digital Acceleration

Greece's digital transformation story is inseparable from the COVID-19 pandemic. Before March 2020, digital government in Greece was limited and fragmented. The pandemic forced the government to digitize services at emergency speed, and the results exceeded expectations. Key achievements include:

• Digital prescriptions (e-Syntagografisi): Electronic prescription system expanded to handle 100% of prescription medications, eliminating paper prescriptions entirely for most patients.
• Digital certificates: Birth certificates, family status certificates, and criminal record checks moved online, reducing KEP office visits by over 50%.
• Appointment booking (myAADElive, myKEPlive): Video call services for government agencies, allowing citizens to complete procedures remotely with real-time agent assistance.
• Digital signatures: Legal recognition of electronic signatures for government documents, enabling remote completion of administrative procedures that previously required in-person visits.
• COVID certificate: Greece was among the first EU countries to implement the EU Digital COVID Certificate, providing early experience with verifiable digital credentials — a technology directly related to the EUDI Wallet.

This rapid digitalization built both technical capacity and citizen trust in digital government services. The fact that Greece implemented the EU Digital COVID Certificate early and successfully is a positive signal for the EUDI Wallet rollout, as the underlying concepts (verifiable credentials, QR code verification, cross-border recognition) are similar.

Ministry of Digital Governance: Political Leadership

Greece established a dedicated Ministry of Digital Governance (Ypourgeio Psifiakis Diakvernisis) in 2019, signaling political commitment to digital transformation at the highest level. The ministry oversees Gov.gr, the Gov.gr Wallet, digital strategy, cybersecurity, telecommunications policy, and — critically — Greece's EUDI Wallet implementation.

Having a cabinet-level ministry dedicated to digital issues gives Greece an institutional advantage: digital transformation has a direct voice in government policy discussions and budget allocation. Many EU countries manage digital identity through agencies nested within larger ministries (interior, finance, or transport), which can slow decision-making. Greece's approach, with a minister who can champion the EUDI Wallet at the highest political level, may help ensure the December 2026 deadline is met. The ministry also coordinates with the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA, Archi Prostasias Dedomenon Prosopikou Charaktira) to ensure the wallet respects citizens' GDPR rights.

Tourism and the EUDI Wallet: A Greek Priority

Tourism is central to the Greek economy, contributing approximately 25% of GDP and employing roughly 900,000 people. Greece welcomed over 30 million international visitors in 2024, with the majority arriving from other EU member states (Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Poland being top source markets). The EUDI Wallet has direct implications for Greek tourism.

EU tourists with EUDI Wallets will be able to verify their identity at Greek hotels without handing over physical passports — a process that currently involves manual data entry by hotel staff for police registration (the Greek "police slip" requirement). Car rental companies could verify driver's licenses digitally. Ferries between Greek islands, which currently require ID checks during peak season, could use wallet-based verification to speed boarding. For Greece, the EUDI Wallet is not just a government compliance exercise — it is a potential tool for improving the tourism experience and reducing administrative friction during the high season when island services are already stretched thin.

Reassurance: Greece Has Already Built a Digital Wallet

If you're concerned about whether Greece will deliver an EUDI Wallet, remember that Greece has already built and launched a domestic digital wallet — the Gov.gr Wallet app with over 4 million downloads. The country transformed from the EU's least digital government (2016) to one that processes millions of digital transactions monthly through Gov.gr. The December 2026 deadline applies equally to all 27 EU member states, and Greece's recent track record of rapid digital deployment, combined with its existing wallet infrastructure, positions it well to meet the requirement. The main task is upgrading the existing Gov.gr Wallet to comply with EU-wide technical standards and cross-border recognition, rather than building from scratch.