Also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Recently, we hosted a conversation with Paul Grassi, Principal Product Manager for Identity Services at Amazon.
During the session, Paul offered a deep dive into why Amazon is “doubling down” on digital credentials and their plans to accept existing verified credentials directly from trusted issuers like U.S. states and, soon, EU member states under the upcoming EUDI mandate.
The discussion highlighted how wallet-based identity isn’t just a technical upgrade but a significant shift in user experience, privacy controls, and regulatory compliance.
While mDLs and the EUDI wallets promise a more frictionless onboarding process, their success depends on widespread adoption, reliable standards, and seamless integration with existing business models.
Below, you’ll find the full takeaways from this insightful exchange.
Paul’s Background & Role at Amazon
- Amazon Responsibilities
- Oversees identity services for Amazon’s retail site and all its third-party subsidiaries, sellers, and vendors.
- Manages product direction for identity verification, focusing on verifying either full identity or specific attributes (e.g., age).
Why Amazon is Doubling Down on Digital Credentials
- Strategic Rationale
- Amazon aims to provide better customer experience by reducing friction in identity proofing.
- Accepting digital credentials improves privacy control for consumers (less data leakage).
- Aligns with broader industry shifts (e.g., passkeys in authentication).
- Long-Term Vision
- Eventually transition to digital wallets, so Amazon does not have to handle or store documents.
- Shorten user workflows, improving onboarding and reducing error rates.
Verification vs. Acceptance
- Difference Between Verification and Acceptance
- Verification: Gathering identity documents (e.g., government-issued IDs) and matching them to the individual.
- Acceptance: Amazon wants to move from verifying everything itself to accepting standardized digital credentials directly, offloading the verification burden.
- Current Verification Methods
- Demographic and credit-bureau checks.
- Document upload + selfie match.
- Globally used but cumbersome for both Amazon and the user.
- Challenges with Traditional Verification
- Requires multiple screens/steps.
- Cross-device flows can be complex.
- Possible over-collection of personal data (e.g., full DOB, address).
- Acceptance Model
- Rely on already-verified attributes from a trusted issuer (e.g., a state-issued mobile driver’s license).
- Improves user control of personal data.
- Speeds up the onboarding process and reduces overhead for Amazon.
Mobile Driver’s Licenses (mDLs) in the United States
- Amazon’s Plans
- Targeting 2025 to integrate direct acceptance of mDLs.
- Envisions also extending acceptance to passports or similar digital government IDs where possible.
- Reasoning Behind mDLs
- mDLs are a high-assurance ID form.
- Potential for large-scale adoption if major relying parties (like Amazon) accept them.
- Eliminate lengthy manual checks and data entry, boosting CX.
- Market Adoption & Chicken-or-Egg Problem
- Currently only around 5 million mDLs in circulation (across various states).
- Many states are at different stages of mDLs rollout.
- Amazon plans to be the egg, i.e., become a major acceptor to encourage mDL issuance and adoption.
Implementation Challenges & Approaches for mDLs
- State-by-State Fragmentation
- Different states have varying approaches to standards and rollout speeds.
- Some follow ISO-compliant mobile driver’s license (mDL) standards; others do not.
- Some prefer Apple/Google wallets; others build their own apps.
- Multi-Pronged Acceptance
- Amazon is integrating with multiple solutions: Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and the ISO approach.
- Avoids reliance on any single channel or bespoke setup.
- North Star: eventually rely on standard APIs where the only update needed is a new public key for a new region.
- Timeline Caveats
- Amazon’s target is 2025, acknowledging complexities in standardization and state readiness.
- Document upload flows will remain for those without digital licenses.
European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet
- September 2026 Deadline
- EU member states must provide a European Digital ID Wallet for citizens.
- Amazon is actively exploring how to accept EUDI Wallet credentials for identity verification.
- Parallel to mDLs
- Amazon sees parallels in the EU’s regulatory-driven approach vs. the US’s organic approach.
- Even without EU regulation, Amazon believes the EUDI Wallet is beneficial for users and businesses.
- Potential Customer Journey
- A user could quickly share verified attributes or identity proofs from their EUDI Wallet, bypassing manual steps.
- Not all products/services need ID verification, but for specific use cases (age-restricted items, healthcare, etc.), a wallet-based flow would significantly streamline onboarding.
- Regulatory Benefits & Challenges
- Regulation ensures uniform deadlines and pushes for adoption.
- However, excessive trust framework complexity can slow market rollout.
- Amazon’s existing mDL acceptance architecture will help expedite EUDI integration by 2026.
Possible Use Cases & Customer Experiences
- Age-Restricted Purchases
- mDLs/EUDI can share a simple “Over 18?” verification without revealing full DOB.
- Streamlines workflow for alcohol, tobacco, and other restricted products.
- Healthcare Services
- Amazon Pharmacy (in the US) or other future healthcare expansions benefit from verified identity attributes.
- Digital credentials may verify prescriptions or patient identity quickly.
- Address Verification
- Digital wallets can store and share a verified address, bypassing the manual input of addresses.
- Potential for reduced fraud and fewer shipping/delivery errors.
- Account Recovery
- Use a digital credential as a secure fallback to recover an Amazon account if phone number or other factors are compromised.
The Future of Digital Identity
- Global Differences
- The US approach is less centralized and more organic.
- The EU approach is regulatory-driven with mandated timelines and frameworks.
- Other regions (e.g., India, Australia, New Zealand) also have strong digital ID programs.
- Adoption vs. Technology
- The technology (wallet standards, cryptographic proofs) is maturing.
- The main challenge is building a large ecosystem of relying parties that encourage people to adopt these credentials.
- “Solving the Identity Problem?”
- Paul notes that with passkeys (authentication) and wallets (identity), the industry is closer than ever to a comprehensive solution.
- Large-scale user adoption remains the final hurdle.
Closing Thoughts & Audience Q&A
- Global Adoption of Verifiable Credentials
- Amazon will continue monitoring different regional solutions.
- Plans a pragmatic “experiment and scale” approach, focusing on region-specific behaviors and compliance.
- Credential Data Update & Refresh Mechanisms
- Current wallet models typically require re-issuance or revocation for changed attributes (e.g., new address).
- Amazon acknowledges the need for better workflows but sees no immediate standard for push updates from the wallet.
- AI in Identity
- Paul briefly notes that AI is a powerful tool for risk scoring.
- Still, it’s too probabilistic to replace deterministic checks and compliance rules in identity at this stage.
- Timeline & Next Steps
- 2025: Planned acceptance of mDLs in the US.
- 2026: EUDI readiness for Europe.
- Document upload flows will still exist in parallel to digital credentials for the foreseeable future.
