Most providers see opportunity in cross-border use, but they describe systemic friction that makes delivery slow and costly. The survey responses consistently point to four blockers: regulation, technical standards, trust frameworks, and market certainty.
What DVS providers said, in numbers
- 79% said there are major barriers to operating internationally, including regulatory diversity, disparate systems, and technical challenges.
- 79% said the government has a role in enabling cross-border interoperability.
- 62% pointed to harmonisation, alignment, or mutual recognition of national trust frameworks, with many referencing alignment with the EU.
- 57% wanted more consistent adoption of internationally recognised technical standards, with mobile driving licence standards referenced as an example.
Let’s break down the core challenges.
| Barrier | What it looks like in practice | Why it slows cross-border use |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory fragmentation | Different assurance levels, different data protection rules, different liability expectations | Providers end up rebuilding compliance country by country |
| Technical mismatch | Different wallet architectures, trust anchors, cryptographic formats, verification flows | Two “digital credential” systems cannot necessarily talk to each other |
| Trust framework misalignment | Who can issue, how it is verified, who is liable when it fails | Without mutual recognition, trust stops at the border |
| Market uncertainty | Unclear roadmaps, shifting policy, lack of stable demand signals | Investment gets delayed because payback is uncertain |
This is part 2 of a mini series on the future of cross-border digital credentials. Click here to read part 1.
