The European Union is set to reveal plans for a digital wallet that will enable citizens in all 27 member states to store identity documents such as their driving licence, payment details and passwords and to access a range of private and public services with a single online ID, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The digital wallet will allow citizens across the EU to use a single recognised identity to log onto local government websites and pay utility bills as well as to store ID and other official documents in a personal digital vault, the newspaper says.

Users will be able to verify their identity to access their digital wallet using fingerprint or retina scanning among “other methods”, the newspaper adds.

According to the report, EU officials will also prevent companies that access user’s data via the wallet from using it for marketing new products or any other commercial activity.

The EU is currently discussing guidelines on technical standards with member states, with the EU-wide app expected to be fully operational “in about a year”, the newspaper adds.

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