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OpenWallet Foundation Explained: Architecture, Projects and EU Wallets

The OpenWallet Foundation develops open-source wallet components and architectural guidance. It is not a consumer wallet app, and its work is distinct from the EU Digital Identity Wallet program.
From TheFinanceBase Team5 min to read
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The OpenWallet Foundation (OWF) is a Linux Foundation-hosted collaboration developing open-source wallet components and best practices to improve interoperability—not a consumer wallet app or a single mandated wallet design. Its Universal Wallet Reference Architecture describes how a wallet might bring identity, items such as tickets, and money together, but it is guidance for builders, not a product specification.

What is the OpenWallet Foundation?

The OpenWallet Foundation works to advance globally interoperable verifiable credentials through shared open-source technology and best practices. Its work is aimed at the organizations and developers building wallet systems and components. It does not provide one universal app for consumers. OpenWallet Foundation

The word “wallet” can refer to different things: an app used by an individual, a set of software libraries, or the architecture and standards that let separate systems exchange credentials. OWF’s work spans the latter two categories. Its projects can contribute building blocks, but the Foundation itself is not a finished wallet that people download and use.

What is a universal digital wallet?

In the OWF whitepaper, a “universal B2C wallet” is a conceptual wallet that could handle three broad categories: identity, objects such as tickets or tokens, and money such as credit cards or other financial instruments. The idea is to consider a broader wallet ecosystem than identity credentials alone.

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The Universal Wallet Reference Architecture lays out requirements and conceptual and logical architecture for people creating open-source wallet software and components. It discusses modularity, interoperability, privacy, portability, accessible participation, open standards, and user choice. It also considers capabilities such as secure access and storage, user consent, credential and asset management, key management, backup and recovery, payments, and cross-platform interaction. OWF Universal Wallet Reference Architecture whitepaper

These are design considerations and capability areas—not a claim that every OWF project, or any particular wallet, already supports all of them. The architecture does not define an end-user product, prescribe a user interface or delivery mechanism, or provide a technical standard or deep protocol specification. OWF also says its projects are not expected to implement every capability.

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Is the OpenWallet Foundation a wallet app?

No. OWF is a collaboration and project ecosystem, not an individual consumer wallet. Its project directory lists software projects at Growth and Labs stages, including credential-development tools, integration middleware, Android identity libraries, and implementations of credential formats. A directory listing is a starting point for discovery; it does not by itself establish that software is production-ready, actively maintained, security-audited, or commercially supported. OWF project directory

Examples of projects in the directory

  • ACA-Py: a foundation for verifiable credential ecosystems.
  • Credo: formerly Hyperledger Aries Framework Javascript.
  • DIDComm Mediator Service: software for routing DIDComm messages.
  • EUDIPLO: middleware for integration with the European Digital Identity (EUDI) ecosystem.
  • Multipaz: Android libraries and reference applications for real-world identity use cases.
  • SD-JWT implementations: reference implementations in several programming languages.

These examples describe the range of work, not a recommendation or a guarantee of compatibility. Before adopting a project, check its own documentation and repository for current maintenance, supported formats and protocols, licensing, security information, and deployment evidence.

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How is OpenWallet related to the EU Digital Identity Wallet?

The EUDI Wallet is a separate European Union program with its own legal framework and common specifications. OWF does not operate or certify all national EU wallets. Its projects may help developers integrate with the EUDI ecosystem, but that is distinct from the EU’s rules and implementation program.

The EU Digital Identity Framework, Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, was adopted on 20 May 2024. The European Commission says each Member State will offer at least one wallet built to common specifications by 2026. The common toolbox includes an Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) describing ecosystem roles and information exchange, an open-source reference implementation, and technical standards. European Commission: EU Digital Identity Wallet European Commission: EUDI Wallet toolbox and implementing regulation

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OWF’s reference architecture and the EU’s ARF should not be confused: they belong to separate efforts and have different roles. The OWF paper is general architectural guidance for builders; the EU toolbox supports a specific regulated wallet ecosystem.

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What can I use an EU Digital Identity Wallet for?

The Commission’s large-scale pilots have tested use cases involving mobile driving licences, eHealth, payments, and education or professional qualifications. This describes pilot activity, not a promise that every service is available in every country or that every national wallet supports the same transactions.

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One concrete wallet-adjacent example is the EU age-verification blueprint published in July 2025. It is designed to let a user prove they are over 18 without giving an online service additional personal details. The Commission says it is designed to interoperate with future EUDI wallets and uses the same technical specifications, as an early implementation ahead of the full rollout targeted for the end of 2026. European Commission: EU age-verification solution

In July 2026, the Commission reported an EU-Japan pilot exchanging learning credentials between a test EUDI wallet and a Japanese environment built for the pilot. That is evidence of a demonstrated exchange in test environments, not proof of universal live cross-border deployment. European Commission: EU-Japan digital credentials pilot

Which digital wallet standards and projects should developers compare?

Start by identifying what you are evaluating. A reference architecture offers a way to think about system design; a library or middleware package provides components; a reference implementation demonstrates an approach; and a consumer wallet is an end-user product. These categories are not interchangeable, so a project’s label or directory stage is not enough to determine whether it fits a deployment.

For a useful comparison, assess the following dimensions against your actual use case:

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  • Scope: Does the system address identity credentials only, or also objects such as tickets and money?
  • Interoperability: Which credential formats, protocols, networks, and standards does the implementation support?
  • Privacy and user control: Does it enable minimal disclosure, meaningful consent, and data portability?
  • Security and recovery: How are keys and data stored, access controlled, backed up, and recovered?
  • Delivery and maturity: Is it architecture guidance, a library, middleware, a reference implementation, or a complete wallet? What evidence exists for maintenance and deployment?

The OWF whitepaper supplies architectural principles and capability categories, not a universal scoring rubric or production-readiness ranking. The EU’s ARF and toolbox are relevant when the target is EUDI compatibility; OWF projects are candidates for examining open-source building blocks. In either case, confirm requirements and implementation status in the project’s own current documentation before making a technical or procurement decision.

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