It won’t come as a surprise to readers of ID & Secure Document News™ that the global digital identity market is entering a phase of accelerated growth, with spending projected to increase from $15.2 billion in 2024 to over $26 billion by 2029, according to Juniper Research.

The future of ID cards, passports and driving licences is mobile. But the path to full digitisation still involves overcoming many challenges. At the heart of these challenges is the need to build trust with citizens.

A recent online article from Maryia Valchanina, Head of Data Processing at Regula, sheds light on one of the lesser-discussed challenges in the field of document authentication—the verification of professional identity documents. Unlike conventional passports or national ID cards, which benefit from widespread standardisation and well-established verification protocols, these specialised documents often exist in a fragmented regulatory landscape.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation on 12 new Implementing Acts that will define the technical and legal framework for the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, as established under Regulation (EU) 2024/1183. Running from 15 April to 13 May 2025, the consultation focuses on trust services, interoperability, and security standards essential for the deployment of the EUDI Wallet across Member States.

The European Union (EU) is making significant progress in its digital identity initiatives, reinforcing its commitment to standardising digital identification systems across member states. These efforts aim to enhance security within the region, with various countries implementing advanced digital ID solutions.

The ongoing digitisation of personal identification demands reliable solutions for secure identification. Mobile IDs have proven to provide a simple verification method via mobile devices. Despite its growing popularity, many use cases for this technology remain largely unexplored. In this article, Veridos’ CEO, Marc-Julian Siewert reveals the full potential of mobile IDs.

If you started reading this in anticipation of a definitive answer on how digital and physical ID documents can co-exist, I should apologise. It’s actually a personal look at how I might go about reasserting my identity in the event of a major crisis. But like many thought-experiments, you can learn a lot when you stress-test your ideas in extreme circumstances.

The 2025 Thales Digital Trust Index reveals a noticeable decline in global consumer trust across digital services. The study, encompassing over 14,000 consumers across 14 countries, indicates that no sector achieved a trust rating greater than 50%, underscoring widespread scepticism towards personal data handling practices in the digital domain.

Facial recognition, as a technology, is becoming more common, finding applications for law enforcement, border management and commercial enterprise. However, this has raised concerns about how it is being used and whether clear rules exist to govern it. To address this, the Biometrics Institute, an organisation that studies the responsible use of biometrics, recently published a report called ‘Members’ Viewpoints: The Use of Facial Recognition in Policing.’

The Batam Centre seaport in Indonesia is one of southeast Asia’s busiest and most complex border crossing points. Situated at the intersection of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, Batam Centre serves as a vital conduit for international travelers and trade. With approximately 4.2 million passengers moving through Batam’s domestic and international ferry terminals in the first half of 2024, the location is a linchpin to regional connectivity.