Greece inaugurates digital IDs, driver’s licenses to be displayed on smartphones

Greece’s digital governance ministry on Wednesday unveiled what’s billed as the latest major breakthrough in eliminating ubiquitous paper-based “red-tape” and bureaucratic hurdles in the east Mediterranean country, namely, a new application – Gov.gr Wallet – which will display digital versions of a citizen’s police ID and driver’s license.

The importance attached by the current center-right government to digitizing all transactions between state and citizen and offering online processes for such transactions was evident during a relevant event on Thursday, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself attending and offering up his smartphone as a display of the new application.

According to Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis the mobile app will replace the need to carry the actual police ID or driver’s license upon one’s person, allowing faster transactions through a secure process requiring a digital confirmation, including with a QR code, among others.

Pierrakakis said the app, which can be downloaded, was developed as part of the public administration “gov.gr” platform. It can be downloaded through the wallet.gov.gr website, with a user employing personal tax bureau codes or web banking codes.

Text messages (SMS) to the user’s mobile phone will confirm the process when any document is requested and issued, he added.

“We’re creating a system for banks and telecoms providers beginning on Oct. 1, as well as for any agencies that require a user to show identification. A digital trace will be created, instead of copies of one’s ID, transforming into digital proof something that has been a burden to provide in physical form,” Pierrakakis said.