Today, we share our vision for the future of identity verification, from challenges to growing business opportunities.

The limits to document-based IDV

Current online identity verification still relies on physical methods (document-based).

That means users are mostly asked to take selfies, scan passport and upload documents they may not have on hand when starting the process. The result? 63% of users abandon onboarding, especially in high-trust industries like banking and finance (Innovatrics, 2024).

Sample of a document-based IDV process - Estimated time: 5 minutes.

That’s why a new method of ID verification with electronic-IDs (eIDs) is coming into play.

electronic-ID: The new wave boosted by European and global adoption

The European Commission’s eIDAS 2.0 aims for 80% of EU residents to have digital IDs and use them across services by 2030. In addition, Gartner predicts that by 2026, over 500 million smartphone users will rely on digital identity wallets.

This is not just another trend. It’s a fundamental shift in the identity landscape. Rather than being a regulatory burden, eID adoption seems to emerge as a conversion driver, reducing friction, increasing trust, and accelerating user onboarding.

Benefits of using eID for ID verification

Electronic-ID (eID) verification offers significant advantages over traditional document-based methods, making it the perfect choice for secure, fast, and user-friendly onboarding experiences:

• Enhanced security: eIDs are issued and verified through government systems, ensuring a high level of trust, security, and reliability.

• Instant verification: The digital nature of eIDs enables real-time authentication, eliminating delays and errors associated with manual review or document uploads.

• Seamless user experience: With credentials stored securely on the user’s mobile device, identity verification can happen anytime, anywhere, no need to carry physical documents or interrupt the process.

However, for organizations, the real challenge lies in supporting the growing variety of national eIDs and digital wallets, each with its own administrative processes, standards, protocols, and integration requirements.

How to use eIDs: Two approaches

There are two paths to support and enable eID: a direct integration and an indirect one.

1. Direct integration: What makes it difficult

Direct integration means that companies must connect to each national eID system, for example 27+ only in Europe. When dealing directly with eID integration, companies will face three major challenges: administrative, technical, and cultural.

2. Indirect integration: The scalable approach

Companies’ core business isn’t identity. They shouldn’t have to handle all the burden related to it.

Under the eIDAS 2.0 ARF, intermediaries serve as unified access points to national eIDs. However, their effectiveness varies widely. Organizations selecting an intermediary must carefully assess factors such as eID coverage and wallet compatibility, user experience adaptability, and integration with existing identity verification (IDV) systems.

For companies, this approach reduces complexity, accelerates integration, and ensures full compliance.

A new solution is coming: More global, more accessible

Hopae presents the first global eID integration platform, hConnect, to allow companies to easily access to all existing eIDs.

Stay tuned for more information about hConnect!

Curious about integrating eIDs? Book a demo!