Munich – September 11, 2026 -- Nearly half of European consumers, 46%, say they frequently abandon a transaction when identity verification is too complex or slow, according to a new IDnow survey released ahead of the EUDI Wallet's mandated December 2026 rollout.
The survey of 2,000 respondents across France and Germany, conducted by Sapio Research in June 2026, found that awareness of the EU Digital Identity Wallet remains low even as EU member states are required to make it available to every citizen by December 2026, with banks obligated to accept it starting December 2027.
Security concerns outweigh speed as the top adoption driver
Forty percent of respondents cited better fraud protection as the decisive factor for accepting the EUDI Wallet, ahead of data control (31%) and transparency over data usage (29%). Faster, simpler processes ranked lower, decisive for only 28% of respondents.
Consumers accept added friction if it improves security
Forty-seven percent of respondents said they would accept additional identity checks if they improved security, even at the cost of longer processes. Only 13% would opt for fewer checks in the face of rising fraud risk.
Selective data sharing emerges as the wallet's core selling point
Sixty-three percent of consumers said they would be more inclined to use the EUDI Wallet if it let them prove a single attribute, such as age, without disclosing their full personal data. This "selective disclosure" capability stands out as the wallet's primary value proposition over existing verification methods.
No single verification method dominates bank account opening preferences
Asked how they would prefer to verify their identity when opening a bank account, respondents were split: 24% favored in-person verification, 14% a digital identity wallet, 13% NFC chip reading, 11% ID-plus-selfie submission, and 10% a video call with an agent.
IDnow said the fragmented preference data indicates that digital wallets will not replace other verification methods outright. The company recently launched its IDnow Trust Platform to route customers to the verification journey and assurance level suited to each case without breaking the user experience.
"European consumers understand the problem the EUDI Wallet is meant to solve, but they are not yet convinced it is the solution,