3 reasons why your customers will love wallet-based onboarding

Customer onboarding is the process of welcoming and integrating a new customer into a company, with the aim of simplifying and securing the verification of their information, while offering them a seamless experience. Onboarding has become an often frustrating process. On the one hand, customers are confronted with lengthy, repetitive processes requiring them to provide extensive personal information, submit identity documents and generally go through biometric checks: this is generally referred to as KYC (Know Your Customer). On the other hand, they are forced to repeat these steps for each new subscription or service, which generates significant frustration and impacts customer satisfaction levels. For companies, this can translate into lower conversion rates, financial losses and sometimes reputational damage. Who hasn't abandoned an onboarding project because they didn't have the digital documents to hand? According to an ABBYY survey, 90% of companies lose customers before onboarding is complete.

Despite these drawbacks, these processes remain indispensable for acquiring new customers, due to strict compliance requirements that are constantly evolving, and the need for companies to minimize risk. Striking the right balance between legal compliance and optimal customer experience is therefore a major challenge for companies.

Today, numerous technologies have appeared to facilitate onboarding: proof of humanity, artificial intelligence, auto-completion following the presentation of a document (OCR), manual detection of document fraud... But in the end, the customer experience and internal productivity suffer. But in the end, the customer experience and internal productivity suffer.

This is where the digital identity wallet solution comes in: to meet this challenge by offering a simple, fluid and secure identity verification pathway for the customer, while meeting the compliance needs of companies.

What is the identity wallet?

The identity wallet, or EUDI wallet (European Digital Identity Wallet), was introduced in the second version of the European regulation eIDAS2 (Electronic Identification and Trust Services) published in 2024 by the European Commission. This is a new means of electronic authentication recognized throughout Europe, designed to standardize cross-border identification within the European Union.

This digital wallet enables individuals to store forgery-proof digital credentials, issued by verified trusted sources such as governments, institutions or companies. These attestations are digital equivalents of physical documents such as proof of address, IBAN or digital identity. However, these attestations offer a crucial advantage for verifiers (companies): they cannot be altered, making document fraud obsolete. Once obtained, these attestations can be presented to third parties with the individual's explicit authorization. In this way, companies can interact with these digital wallets and request the presentation of the necessary attestations, such as digital identity, RIB/IBAN, proof of address, or proof of majority. According to the European Commission, 80% of European citizens will hold an EUDI wallet by 2030, indicating the growing adoption of this technology in the coming years.
But why is Europe encouraging the democratization of this technology? Why are innovative companies already looking to identity wallets to transform their onboarding journey? How does this innovation benefit both companies and end-customers? Here are the top 3 reasons why your customers will love using their wallet to complete your onboarding journey!

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1. Check once, reuse without limit!

One of the main drawbacks for customers is the incessant repetition of onboarding processes. Each new service requires the same information to be entered, the same documents to be provided and the same verification steps to be completed. This redundancy is not only tedious, but can also lead to the process being abandoned if the customer doesn't have his documents to hand.

With the identity wallet, customers verify their identity and identity attributes once to obtain various certificates. Once obtained, these electronic documents can be reused. For example, to verify his IBAN, the customer can request a Credential from his bank via his identity wallet. This Credential, once issued and stored in the wallet, can be shared with any new service that requests it, with a single click. This considerably simplifies the process and improves the conversion rate by reducing the abandonment rate.

The wallet also enables customers to authenticate themselves with a single click to the services of their choice, avoiding the need to remember a multitude of passwords or log in via a web giant.

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2. Faster onboarding process

Traditional onboarding processes are often long and involve many steps, which can be frustrating for customers. These first interactions with the company are crucial, as they affect brand image and customer satisfaction. According to a Forrester study, 66% of adults consider that valuing their time is the most important factor for a good digital customer experience.

The identity wallet speeds up the onboarding process by eliminating redundant steps. Customers no longer need to re-fill in their personal details or physically provide their documents; everything is already present in their wallet in the form of secure digital credentials. 70% of consumers abandon their onboarding journey if it takes longer than 20 minutes. With the identity wallet, this time is considerably reduced, improving the customer experience and fostering loyalty.

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3. Enhanced security and confidentiality

The security of personal data has become a major concern for customers in an increasingly digital world. The Identity Wallet responds to this concern by offering an advanced level of security, notably through the principle of selective disclosure and the use of Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) techniques. This mechanism enables the customer to prove information without revealing all the underlying data.

For example, if a user needs to prove that they are over 18 to access a service, they can provide a Credential confirming only that they are over 18, without having to reveal their exact date of birth or other sensitive information. With ZKP, only strictly necessary information is shared, reducing exposure to cyber-attacks and data leaks in addition to a double anonymity logic.

In addition,the identity wallet ensures that the individual knows exactly what information he or she is sharing and with whom. Every company requesting credentials is verified and authenticated, eliminating the risk of identity theft by fraudulent companies. Users can be confident that they are only sharing their data with legitimate, approved entities.

Unlike traditional e-mailing of sensitive documents, the identity wallet uses a secure channel, where no data is sent or stored in an unsecured way. This minimizes the risk of documents being hacked, intercepted or falsified. Exchanges are directly protected by strict security standards, in line with European regulations such as eIDAS 2, guaranteeing the confidentiality and integrity of personal data.

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Conclusion

The identity wallet is set to revolutionize customer onboarding. Many companies are already starting to test this technology, and plan to fully integrate it into their processes by 2027, the latest date by which member states will be required to offer it to all citizens. This innovation represents a major opportunity for companies to optimize their workflows, accelerate growth and increase new customer satisfaction.

At Archipels, we offer an identity wallet that complies with European regulations and, above all, a platform for companies to request and verify these Credential). We invite companies to join our free Early-Adopters Program to test and understand the identity wallet and be among the first to benefit from its advantages.
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Just as the wallet facilitates Know Your Customer (KYC), the Archipels solution also drastically simplifies digital exchanges with your suppliers (KYS).