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eID verification for Europe

eID is one of Anti-Money Laundering Regulation's (AMLR) default routes for remote onboarding at substantial or high assurance. In high-adoption markets, it's also the fastest way to onboard.

Speak to an expert

eID verification for Europe

eID is one of Anti-Money Laundering Regulation's (AMLR) default routes for remote onboarding at substantial or high assurance. In high-adoption markets, it's also the fastest way to onboard.

Speak to an expert

How eID verification actually works

An eID is an identity verified against a government or bank source. The method varies by country. Some read the chip in a physical ID card over NFC; others go through a banking app your customer already opens every week.

A document check starts from scratch every time; checking is the document genuine, has it been altered, does the face match, is it a live person. An eID check doesn't ask any of that. It retrieves identity data from the source where those questions were already answered, by the bank or authority that verified the person when they issued their eID.

How eID verification actually works

WHAT eID IS

Verified identity data

From a government or bank source

Available at high assurance level

Substantial or high LoA, depending on the scheme; both satisfy AMLR

One approval from the user

Replaces the document upload

An AMLR default route

From 10 July 2027

WHAT eID ISN’T

The EUDI Wallet

Where a strong national eID exists, the EUDI Wallet is being built on top of it

Proof of liveness

Confirms the identity, but not the person

AML screening

Sanctions and PEP checks still may be needed

Always high assurance level

Check the LoA, scheme by scheme, as not all eIDs are substantial or high LoA

Universal

Adoption varies per country. Only effective where there is real adoption.

Your customer's identity was verified before they reached you

The identity work still happens. It just doesn't happen in your funnel. A bank or a government did it. You get the answer, not the workload.

German eID is live on Fourthline now, at eIDAS high assurance. It’s also the most demanding scheme in Europe to be authorised for; we hold BVA authorisation as a German eID service provider and are a certified Qualified Trust Service Provider.

We started there deliberately. A long list of easy integrations shows a vendor can connect to an API. One hard scheme, properly authorised, shows what happens when a regulator asks how it works.

More schemes are in development.

Document check

Capture front

Capture back

Selfie

Liveness

Review

Identity verified

Five steps for the user. Verification starts from zero, every time.

eID check

Verified when eID was issued

Customer approves

Identity verified

Verified already. Customer just approves.

Before they reached you

In your funnel

Outcome

The identity work still happens. It just doesn’t happen in your funnel. A bank or a government did it and you get the answer, not the workload.

What integrating national eID schemes actually involves

Fourthline in numbers

Under the original eIDAS regulation, fewer than half of EU member states formally notified a national eID scheme. Yet dozens of national, bank-operated and private schemes are in daily use, each with different protocols, assurance levels and registration requirements. Across the EU, 52% of people used an eID last year: from 99% in Denmark to 10% in Romania. But the harder question isn’t which schemes exist. It’s which ones people actually use.

475M

IDENTIFICATION ACTIONS · ITSME, BELGIUM, 2024

MODEL: Bank-backed

IN PRACTICE: Belgians use itsme to log into their bank, sign contracts and reach government services, every day. That daily habit is what drives adoption.

1 in 3

ADULTS WHO HAVE EVER USED IT · GERMANY, SINCE 2010

MODEL: Government-issued, built into every ID card

IN PRACTICE: Germans can use their national eID for banking and government services. Most never do due to the complex setup, and that few portals accept it.

Access isn’t equal either

Some schemes you integrate with directly. Some are only reachable through a licensed broker, or closed to foreign entities altogether. We navigate that on your behalf.

Remote onboarding under AMLR: what changs in July 2027

From 10 July 2027, the AMLR applies directly in every member state. eID at substantial or high assurance, qualified electronic signatures (QES), and the EU Digital Identity Wallet become the default route for remote onboarding.

Document and video-based methods remain valid, but only as a justified exception. Under the EBA's draft RTS, using a non-eIDAS method requires your institution to demonstrate that an eIDAS-compliant option was genuinely unavailable, unreasonable, or disproportionate for that specific customer. That justification needs to be documented per session, retained for a minimum of five years, and retrievable on request by a supervisor. It's not a blanket opt-out; it's a per-case burden of proof.

The 2026 EUDI Wallet deadline requires a wallet, not an eID. Notifying a national eID scheme was always voluntary and still is. Where a country already runs an identity system people use, the wallet inherits it. Where it doesn't, the wallet is a new app asking for trust it hasn't earned yet.

Today

National eID schemes are live and in daily use across Europe. eID at substantial or high assurance already meets AMLR's default route.

July 2027

AMLR applies. eID becomes one of the default routes for remote onboarding, alongside the EUDI wallet and QES.

Beyond 2027

The EUDI Wallet is being built on top of existing national eID systems, but only the strong ones. Where a high-assurance scheme already exists, the wallet inherits it. Where it doesn't, the wallet starts from scratch. The schemes you enable now are the foundation it runs on.

Remote onboarding under AMLR: what changs in July 2027

Today

National eID schemes are live and in daily use across Europe. eID at substantial or high assurance already meets AMLR's default route.

July 2027

AMLR applies. eID becomes one of the default routes for remote onboarding, alongside the EUDI wallet and QES.

Beyond 2027

How Fourthline approaches eID

Built around existing habits

We prioritise eID schemes people already use daily, because that's where conversion happens from day one.

Every route stays open

eID, document, NFC, QES and biometric routes run in one flow, routed by market, device and risk. We don't push customers to eID before the habit exists because doing so costs conversion. If eID isn't the right route for a given market or user, the fallback engages automatically: same flow, same integration, no drop-off.

Not all eIDs are equal; we'll tell you which ones matter

Assurance is a property of the scheme, not of eID as a category, meaning not all eIDs carry the same level of assurance which is important for satisfying AMLR. We surface it so your risk policy can act on it.

One platform, end to end

Identity verification, biometric authentication, AML screening and electronic signatures in a single workflow. One integration, one contract, one audit trail; rather than stitching together multiple separate vendors.

How Fourthline approaches eID

Built around existing habits

We prioritise eID schemes people already use daily, because that's where conversion happens from day one.

Every route stays open

Not all eIDs are equal; we'll tell you which ones matter

One platform, end to end

German eID, live today

German eID is live on Fourthline now, at eIDAS high assurance. It's also the most demanding scheme in Europe to be authorised for; we hold BVA authorisation as a German eID service provider and are a certified Qualified Trust Service Provider.

We started there deliberately. A long list of easy integrations shows a vendor can connect to an API. One hard scheme, properly authorised, shows what happens when a regulator asks how it works.

More schemes are in development.

We started there deliberately. A long list of easy integrations shows a vendor can connect to an API. One hard scheme, properly authorised, shows what happens when a regulator asks how it works.

More schemes are in development.

Reach out to our team to find out more

Highest assurance (eIDAS LoA High)

Cryptographically protected identity data, retrieved direct from official sources, at the highest Level of Assurance eIDAS defines.

Highest assurance (eIDAS LoA High)

Cryptographically protected identity data, retrieved direct from official sources, at the highest Level of Assurance eIDAS defines.

Under 60 seconds

For customers who already use their national eID regulary, verifcations via NFC takes under 60 seconds from start to confirmed identity. One PIN, one tap; no document upload, no manual review queue.

Under 60 seconds

For customers who already use their national eID regulary, verifcations via NFC takes under 60 seconds from start to confirmed identity. One PIN, one tap; no document upload, no manual review queue.

One integration

eID runs inside the same Fourthline workflow as biometric authentication and AML Screening and Monitoring. Add additional products as your use case requires, or run them independently without re-integrating.

One integration

What follows an eID check

eID answers one question exceptionally well: who is this person. For many institutions, at the right assurance level, that's enough as eID at substantial or high assurance satisfies AMLR's remote onboarding requirements on its own.

But who someone is doesn't automatically confirm they're present right now. For higher-risk products or where your policy requires it, biometric authentication adds that confirmation; verifying the person completing the check is the one the eID belongs to. That's a risk-based decision, not a compliance requirement.

Biometric Authentication

Confirms the person presenting the eID is the person it belongs to at onboarding and every time they come back.

Learn about Biometric Authentication

Learn more

AML Screening and Monitoring

Sanctions, PEP and adverse media checks at onboarding, then continuously throughout the customer relationship; triggered by list updates, re-screening schedules, or risk events.

Learn about AML Screening & Monitoring

Learn more

Qualified Electronic Signature

QES is another AMLR default route alongside eID and the EUDI Wallet, and the one that works today in every market, including those where a usable national eID scheme isn't yet live. If you're onboarding across Europe now, QES is how you stay compliant while eID adoption builds.

Learn about QES

Learn more

AMLR Readiness

A practical guide to what changes on 10 July 2027: which routes become default, what documentation you'll need for fallback methods, and what to put in place before the deadline.

Learn about AMLR solution

Learn more

eID verification: common questions

Does the EU Digital Identity Wallet replace national eID schemes?

Do users need to install an app or a special phone to use eID?

Which countries and eIDs do you support?

How does eID interact with biometrics, are they redundant or complementary?

Will eID make Know Your Customer (KYC) audits simpler for compliance teams?

Start with the markets where eID already works

If you're mapping which schemes to enable, how to sequence them, and what your fallback looks like while adoption builds, that's the conversation we're having with clients now.

Speak to an expert

Start with the markets where eID already works

If you're mapping which schemes to enable, how to sequence them, and what your fallback looks like while adoption builds, that's the conversation we're having with clients now.

Speak to an expert