Learn how EUDI Wallet authentication can replace passwords and SMS OTPs with cryptographic, high-assurance identity verification for B2B platforms.
Users need secure ways to access B2B platforms, and passwords are one of the most common entry points.
Organisations must protect passwords, process resets and recovery, defend against credential attacks, and mitigate phishing attempts. Even with strong security safeguards in place, passwords remain a shared secret that can be compromised and reused by attackers. NIST recommends phishing-resistant authentication where practical and highlights that passwords and manually entered one-time passwords are not phishing-resistant.
The European Digital Identity Wallet offers an alternative.
Rather than asking users to provide and protect a new password, a B2B platform can ask for verified credentials or attributes in the user's wallet. The wallet provides a cryptographically verifiable presentation, which the relying party can verify and use to attest the information and associated proof.
This involves a shift away from shared secrets and towards verifiable proof.
A simplified wallet-based authentication flow would look something like this:
1. The B2B platform generates a request for specific credentials or attributes.
2. This request is sent to the user's wallet.
3. The wallet displays what it is asking for.
4. The user authorizes the presentation.
5. The wallet provides the requested information, along with cryptographic proof.
6. The platform validates the presentation and establishes the user's session.
Depending on the use case, the platform would receive either one of the following:
Verified identity attributes
An organisation or employment credential
A professional qualification
Proof of a particular attribute or entitlement
The platform does not receive the wallet's private keys, and it does not need to maintain a password for that authentication flow.
The EUDI framework also supports selective disclosure, so a relying party should only ask for the specific information it needs rather than collecting an entire identity profile.
For example, if a service only needed to establish that a user was an employee of a certain organisation, it should not request unrelated personal information automatically.
EUDI Wallets are frequently mentioned in the context of high-assurance authentication, but an EUDI Wallet presentation should not automatically be described as "LoA High."
Under eIDAS, assurance levels are determined based on factors including identity proofing, the electronic identification means, authentication mechanisms and protection of the relevant credentials and keys. High is the highest of the three assurance levels: low, substantial and high.
The EUDI Wallet's Person Identification Data (PID) is a core identity credential. Depending on the applicable implementation, it can contain attributes such as name, date of birth and nationality.
For B2B platforms, the important point is to define the assurance and credential requirements for the particular service rather than assuming that every wallet login automatically provides the same level of assurance.
The EUDI Wallet framework incorporates a Wallet Secure Cryptographic Device (WSCD) to protect critical cryptographic assets and perform secure cryptographic operations. The implementing regulation requires wallet units to use at least one WSCD to manage critical assets.
This helps to protect the cryptographic keys that the wallet uses, and supports proof that the presenter has control over the relevant key material.
However, secure cryptography does not make every other attack impossible.
Users can still be tricked to approve malicious requests, and a B2B platform can have flaws in its own account, session or authorization systems.
EUDI Wallet authentication therefore bolsters the authentication foundation, but not the broader application security.
For remote wallet interactions, OpenID for Verifiable Presentations (OpenID4VP) is the key standard in the EUDI ecosystem.
OpenID4VP 1.0 was formally approved as a final OpenID Foundation specification in 2025. It describes how a verifier can request and receive verifiable presentations.
It also incorporates Digital Credentials Query Language (DCQL), which lets a verifier describe the credentials and claims it needs.
Rather than requesting an entire credential by default, a B2B platform can express a more precise requirement.
For example, an employee portal might request a PID attribute required to establish identity, an organisational credential to confirm employment or a professional qualification.
The platform can then use this verified result within its own authentication and authorization system.
The High Assurance Interoperability Profile (HAIP) is designed to narrow the technical choices used in high-assurance OpenID4VC interactions.
It profiles technologies including OpenID4VP, OpenID4VCI, SD-JWT VC and ISO mdoc to improve the interoperability between wallets, issuers and verifiers.
For businesses, this matters because interoperability becomes more difficult when every wallet and verifier makes different technical choices about credential formats, cryptographic algorithms and protocol parameters.
HAIP does not eliminate the need to manage updates, trust infrastructure, credential status and wallet compatibility. It helps to establish a more consistent technical baseline.
The W3C Digital Credentials API offers a browser-mediated approach for websites to interact with digital credentials via the browser and underlying platform.
Chrome announced that the Digital Credentials API is enabled by default from Chrome 141 for supported credential-presentation scenarios.
The technology can help make experiences such as signing in to a B2B dashboard from a laptop with a mobile wallet more seamless.
However, browser and wallet support is still evolving, and production implementations should not assume that one presentation mechanism will work for every user. Alternative wallet interaction methods may still be required.
An EUDI Wallet authentication flow involves multiple parties, including:
the wallet provider, which provides the wallet solution
credential issuers, which issue PID and other credentials
the user, who controls the wallet and authorizes presentations
the relying party, which requests and verifies credentials
The relying party has its own responsibilities.
Under the amended eIDAS framework, organisations intending to rely on EUDI Wallets for digital services must register as relying parties in the relevant Member State. The registration involves providing information such as the intended use of the wallet and the data the relying party intends to request. The EU rules governing relying-party registration apply from 24 December 2026.
The platform must also validate the presentation and relevant trust information, rather than simply trusting the data returned from a wallet.
EUDI Wallets can reduce reliance on passwords, but they do not solve every security problem.
A B2B platform still needs protection against malicious or misleading authentication requests, compromised devices, session theft, weak account recovery, excessive permissions, insider abuse, compromised backend systems and social engineering.
It is therefore misleading to say that EUDI Wallets make phishing impossible.
A user could be tricked to approve a legitimate cryptographic request that was initiated by a malicious or compromised service.
The benefit is more specific. Wallet-based authentication can reduce reliance on reusable passwords and manually entered OTPs while providing cryptographically verifiable evidence and more control over the information being presented.
Integrating EUDI Wallet authentication into an existing B2B platform involves more than just adding a login button.
Teams should be prepared to manage wallet presentation requests, credential formats, cryptographic verification, trust information, proof of possession, session binding and the integration of verified results into their existing authentication and authorization systems.
Authbound provides infrastructure for organisations looking to integrate EUDI Wallet capabilities into their applications, including wallet-based verification and credential workflows.
Authbound helps businesses connect their existing products to the EUDI Wallet ecosystem without having to build every wallet interaction and verification component from scratch.
The objective is not to replace an organisation's own security or compliance responsibilities. It is to streamline the technical connection between the B2B application and the evolving EUDI Wallet ecosystem.
If you are evaluating passwordless B2B authentication, EUDI Wallet integration, identity verification or high-assurance onboarding, contact our team at [email protected] to discuss your use case.
The strongest case for EUDI Wallet authentication is not just about removing a password field.
It changes the underlying trust model.
Rather than relying on a shared password or manually entered OTP, a B2B platform can request user-authorized credentials and verify the cryptographic evidence associated with the presentation.
For businesses, this could mean reduced dependence on password-based authentication, less reliance on manually entered OTPs, cryptographically verifiable identity and credential information, selective disclosure rather than unnecessary data collection and a path towards higher-assurance authentication.
However, the technology is only a part of the solution.
The relying party still needs to request the right information, validate it correctly, protect the resulting session and have the appropriate authorization and security controls in place.
Passwordless authentication is not just removing the password field. It is replacing the assumptions behind the password with a stronger trust architecture.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal, security or compliance advice. EUDI Wallet technical specifications, implementing acts, browser support and national deployment details continue to evolve.
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