mObywatel 2.0: digital ID became equal to plastic document in Poland

Today, on July 14, 2023, the new version of mObywatel, Polish mobile application with identity documents, which is already used by over 10 million people, was released. mObywatel 2.0 includes mDowód, a digital ID that officially became equal to its plastic counterpart. The corresponding act was signed by President of Poland Andrzej Duda month ago.

“Today, Poland has officially become the largest EU country with a government-issued digital ID equal to a plastic ID. Starting September 1st, all the regulated companies in Poland _must_ accept mObywatel (the name of this digital ID) on par with plastic ID,”

Jaroslaw Sygitowicz, co-founder at Authologic, the company responsible for the solution development, comments.

Authologic, the company behind mObywatel 2.0

• mObywatel is basically a gateway into the digitalization process, which allows storing e-documents, including driving licenses, diplomas, COVID certificates, ID cards. One of the main features of a new version of the governmental app is that it allows providing instant payments, now. ePayments also makes financial liabilities, such as bills or property taxes, visible.
• The new API for mObywatel was developed by Authologic, a Warsaw-based software company. It provides one API for many different online identity verification methods like digital ID, photo ID scanning/selfie, and Open Banking verification.

“We are operating in accordance with our previously established plan. As we mentioned many times, our goal is to provide all digital online identity verification methods from all countries in the world in one API. Each month we are closer to this goal,”

Krzysztof Klimczak, co-founder of Authologic, comments on the solution.

• Apart from Poland, the company creates similar solutions for thirteen European countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Austria. Also, it is currently integrated with over 4,000 identity sources, providing the solution to large entities like Binance, LVBet, or UnifiedPost.

Polish ID digitalization background

• The law is preceded by years of development and implementation. The Polish government first introduced the idea of e-documents at the presentation of mObywatel app in October 2017. Since then, the application was downloaded by over 9 million Poles.
• From November 2021, new ID cards with e-proof consisting of fingertips and the ID signature of the cardholder were issued. This allowed the users to synchronize their ID cards with the solution inside the app. As of March 2023, out of 11 million Poles with plastic ID-cards, almost 4 million Poles activated their e-documents.
• In February 2023, the European Commission published the first version of the guidelines to implement the European Digital Identity Wallet. It will contain data such as nationality, age, marital status or address of residence, also diplomas, titles, professional licenses, and will be respected in all of EU.
• And in March 2023, the European Parliament gave its consent to talks with EU countries on the new eIDAS 2.0 Directive. It will allow citizens to identify and authenticate online without the need to use commercial providers.
• In Poland, the law on the equalling e-documents with traditional ones in mObywatel app, prepared by the Ministry of Digital Affairs and submitted by the government, was passed by MPs on March 9. Later, the Polish Senate proposed a number of amendments to it, which the Sejm considered on May 26. On June 14, the President of Poland signed the law.