How to build digital credentials that work in government
Many governments have developed or are in the process of developing digital credentials, but they can encounter barriers that hinder the completion of the process or do not allow them to fully realise the benefits they offer.
Global Government Forum gathered a panel of public servants with extensive experience to share their knowledge on how digital credentials have been developed in government, and the ways in which they can be used to drive transformation.
Ben Piercey, the chief technology officer of the webinar’s knowledge partner AffinitiQuest, opened the discussion by defining both digital identities and digital credentials.
Digital identity is, in his words, “a collection of information that relates to your use of a given online service”. This is different from a digital credential, the topic of the webinar, which Piercey said is “a machine-readable document that contains verified information about you”. This can include elements of the digital identity and some of the attributes that are held in them.
Crucially, a digital credential is issued from an authoritative source such as a school, institution, or government – unlike a digital identity, which can simply be a social media account such as X or Instagram.
According to Piercey, the benefit of a digital credential is to combat issues around identity theft, with account takeovers and the use of personal information from bad actors among the threats. Digital credentials are “privacy by design”, he said, and enable institutions to identify users.
Ragnhildur Ragnarsdóttir, the chief technology officer of Digital Iceland, recounted the development of digital credentials in Iceland, which was first introduced in 2008. She highlighted that the success of digital credentials in the country originates from a sense of collaboration – telecom companies that Icelandic people already trusted partnered with the company behind the digital credential technology, helping to get the ball rolling in implementation in daily Icelandic life.
Read more: Digital identity dilemmas – and how governments are working to overcome them
‘Urgency creates opportunity’
Digital credentials in Iceland can be used for everything from tax filing and applications for benefits to booking a class at a local gym or accessing your child’s football schedule.
Ragnarsdóttir described how the government had driven uptake, and highlighted that “urgency creates opportunity”.
“We always talk about this concept of urgency creates opportunity, which has been a driving force in all major technology breakthroughs,” she said. “A powerful example of this is how the banking crisis in 2008 – here in Iceland and globally – accelerated the adoption of our electronic ID in Iceland. There was a unified decision, between the banks and the government, that if you wanted to receive financial aid on your housing loans during the crisis, you would only be granted that through authentication with the mobile electronic ID.”
Sigrid Rajalo, director of the Innovation and Technology Department in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in Estonia, added that the digitalisation of governmental services in Estonia was born out of necessity. Estonia is a compact nation, and it was easy to bring the country together through streamlined government services online.
Estonia and Iceland are similar in that both countries have fully implemented digital credential programmes, and both have reaped the benefits in terms of nationwide efficiency of government services. In the words of Rajalo, digital credentials have support from citizens because they have been proven to be “just more cost effective” than their analogue predecessors.
Rajalo gave an example of the efficiency digital credentials can provide.
“I think one of the processes that was most challenging [in the past] was buying or selling real estate. I had to go through the process myself [recently], and I would say it’s quite easy to go through because we have a remote authentication system [built on digital credentials]. Our chamber of notaries provides this service, and the sellers, the buyers, they can be anywhere in the world. They just need to have an internet connection.”
Read more: As digital ID adoption grows, government leaders share lessons learned and future plans
‘Three track approach’ to implementation
Gertjan Bouwers, policy advisor in the Digitization and Government Organisation in the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Netherlands, explained how the Netherlands is developing digital credentials, in line with the European Union’s eID programme.
Bouwers set out the country’s “three track approach” to the implementation of digital credentials. First is creating the framework of the tasks and responsibilities of government organisations involved with the development of digital credentials; second is the development of the technical solutions such as wallets for its citizens; and third is the necessary legislation to provide legal foundations for the wallets and the framework.
Digital credentials are not yet fully implemented in the Netherlands the way they are in Estonia and Iceland, with work needed on the third element of process.
Piercey, who works with government organisations in Canada, and Bouwers, shared thoughts on how Canada and the Netherlands are looking to develop digital credentials to realise the benefits set out by Ragnarsdóttir and Rajalo.
Bouwers said the Netherlands is currently facing pushback from its parliament over concerns that the digital credential will put their citizens in a vulnerable position, especially regarding the potential for stolen identities. Therefore, limitations exist for Dutch citizens and the DigiD.
Bouwers said that track two of the three track approach, a national wallet, is in development and will be available for Dutch citizens at the end of 2026, though he added that there are some legal specificities that need to be sorted before the full benefits of the wallet can be realised. The legislative process is slow, he said.
In Canada, Piercey said that the government faces pushback for similar reasons – as indeed does the United States. Overall, North America is not keen on introducing digital credentials compared to EU nations.
Sharing digital credentials across borders
The European panellists also discussed the benefits of cross-border interoperability of digital IDs.
For Bouwers in the Netherlands, the digital wallet that is being developed must make it easier for users to identify themselves at borders, security gates, and during police stops.
Ragnarsdóttir shared information on how Iceland is working with its peer countries in the Nordic Council of Ministers. This initiative brings together eight Nordic and Baltic countries to work on harmonising their electronic identification systems and enabling citizens in these areas to access public services. Processes to implement identity matching between Iceland, Norway and Denmark are under way, she highlighted.
Rajalo explained that in Estonia, the government has worked to develop cross-border services with its neighbours. If people travel to neighbouring countries such as Finland, they can access prescription medications they would normally get in Estonia using their government app and digital credentials, for example.
By expanding the geographical footprint of digital credentials, they become more useful for citizens.
The ‘How to build digital credentials that work for all’ webinar took place on 24 June 2025. It was hosted by Global Government Forum and knowledge partner AffinitiQuest. You can watch the webinar in full here.
About Amanda Sweeney
Amanda Sweeney is an intern at Global Government Forum for the summer of 2025, part of a study-abroad program facilitated by Villanova University. She is a second-year student at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, United States of America. Amanda is heavily involved at Villanova University, being part of one of the largest programs on campus, “Blue Key,” a student-ran tour guide organisation. In addition, she is secretary of Villanova’s Pre-Law Society and co-runs Villanova’s Model United Nations organisation.
