Linux Foundation Europe has launched the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF) to support interoperability for a range of wallets and their functions.
The organisation said in a statement that OFW members will collaborate to develop open-source software to strengthen trust in a digital future, including making payments, proving identity and storing validated credentials such as employment, education, financial standing, and entitlements.
The OWF will not publish a wallet itself, nor offer credentials or create new standards. Instead, its open source software engine aims to become a guide for other organisations and companies to develop their own digital wallets.
The Linux Foundation Europe added that the wallets will seek interoperability with major cross-border projects such as the EU’s Digital Identity Wallet.
“Wallets are critical infrastructure for payments, for identity, and for secure access. Open source, driven by collaboration among for-profits large and small, non-profits, and government leaders, is a great role model for infrastructure that is vital for digital societies and benefits everyone,” said Daniel Goldscheider, Founder of the OpenWallet Foundation.
“With open source at the core of wallets, like it is at the core of web browsers, anyone can build a digital wallet that works with others and gives consumers the freedom to maintain their identity and verifiable credentials and share relevant data when, where, and with whom they choose,” he explained.
The OWF is the second project hosted by Linux Foundation Europe, after Project Sylva, which was was added in November 2022 to create an open source telco cloud software framework.
On the announcement, OWF launched a new report in partnership with Linux Foundation Research. The study, “Why the World Needs an Open Source Digital Wallet Right Now,” notes that digital wallets are the world’s leading payment method for e-commerce and point-of-sale retail.
It explains that with the creation of new wallets underway, in addition to those that already exist, making sure they all stay in sync has never been so important.
If IDs and wallets from elsewhere don’t work, it will cause disruption to travel, international students, and mobile workforces, the report says.
