The digital association Bitkom published new survey results on the so-called Digital Identity Wallet today – a virtual wallet in which all personal documents and identity cards can be digitally stored and accessed on the smartphone. According to the results, 60 percent of German consumers can imagine installing such a Digital Identity Wallet on their smartphone. For this representative survey, Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom interviewed a total of 1,004 people in Germany aged 16 and above by telephone about their assessment and attitudes towards the Digital Identity Wallet.
These are further details:
- The majority of German consumers would be willing to go without the classic wallet and instead load personal documents, IDs, driver's licenses or certificates into a Digital Identity Wallet on their smartphone.
- However, 35 percent of respondents were also critical of this ID wallet, especially when it came to issues of security and trust. Reasons for consumers not wanting to use a wallet included concerns about data misuse (63 percent), security (57 percent) and privacy issues (53 percent).
- Other reservations about using a Digital Identity Wallet related to some practicalities such as the fear of doing something wrong when using it (30 percent), not having a suitable or up-to-date device (24 percent), or generally not knowing enough about digital technology (20 percent). 21 percent also believe that a digital wallet would never really work in practice.
Achim Berg, Bitkom President, noted, "As digitization continues, more and more traditional processes are being digitized. For example, a digital wallet with an electronic identity in which various credentials such as ID cards, driver's licenses and certificates can be stored, is also to be introduced. Sensitivity to IT security and data protection is known to be particularly high in Germany. What people should know: A digital identity wallet is much more secure than a conventional wallet, which can be lost on any street corner. In contrast, the ID wallet encrypts and protects sensitive personal data and only shares it with authorized parties."
Source: Bitkom
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