Banca Transilvania, leading bank in Romania, and BPC, global leader in payments solutions, have completed the first Romanian pilot of the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDIW) for payments, enabling cardholders to authenticate online purchases with their new European Digital ID.
The project forms part of the EU Digital Wallet Consortium led large‑scale pilot funded by the European Commission to push the agenda of the eIDAS 2 regulation, which requires all EU banks to accept EUDIW for KYC and strong customer authentication by 2027.
Backed by EC mandates, EWC set an ambitious forward-looking goal to have 80 percent of EU citizens enjoy access to a state‑issued Digital ID Wallet by 2030. The wallet provides a single, interoperable identity framework across the EU, cutting cross‑border KYC friction and allowing banks to draw on verified attributes such as income, residency or employment during onboarding and credit scoring.
“It is a source of pride for Banca Transilvania, as a market leader in Romania, to be part of this historic project, which creates a common digital framework, developed on unique standards across the European Union, with the same identity verification, security and data protection rules. The EU Digital Identity Wallet will contribute to strengthening the European identity by developing a whole ecosystem ensuring interoperability and access to banking services. The initiative will help us to be more connected, more inclusive and enhance our sense of belonging to something great, aspirational and powerful in the world” - says Oana Ilaș, Deputy CEO Retail Banking, Banca Transilvania.
To meet the milestone of bank-led authentication and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements, Banca Transilvania embarked on the project with its long‑standing trusted technology partner BPC to enhance SmartVista ACS and payment APIs so that any card transaction can be authenticated with the EUDIW.
The authentication is available cross-device and same-device, with user being able to authenticate the transaction with data wallet. The upgraded ACS went live in pilot in March and processed the consortium’s first real‑money transaction: a ferry ticket purchased in the EWC production environment using a Banca Transilvania virtual card and digital credentials stored in the wallet.
Consumers gain a simple, secure way to pay and prove identity across any activity they perform on the market or with the bank. The approach potential is revolutionary and benefits exceed Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements, with bank being able to set subsidies or discounts for certain segments of verified users for chosen social and non-social services.
Vasily Volynsky, Global Head of Accounts, SVP, BPC, said: “Being the first issuer bank in Romania to accept the EU Digital Identity Wallet is a milestone for Banca Transilvania and for Europe’s payments landscape. We are proud to help Banca Transilvania with this and to be a part of this global Europe Digital ID European Commission initiative.”