What the European Business Wallet would mean for SMEs
Use would stay optional
The proposal would not impose any obligation on economic operators to adopt a European Business Wallet. Article 1 lists the obligations the Regulation lays down for public sector bodies; it lays down none for businesses. [1]
What it would offer instead is a common set of core functionalities, defined in Article 5, that an SME could choose to use or ignore. [1]
What a Wallet could be used for
Article 4 gives actions carried out through the core functionalities the same legal effect as their paper or in-person equivalent. Article 5 lists those functionalities: identifying and authenticating, requesting and sharing attestations, signing with a qualified electronic signature or sealing with a qualified electronic seal, submitting documents and sending or receiving notifications through a qualified electronic registered delivery service, and creating and revoking mandates for employees or other representatives. [1]
The Commission's own cost estimates
The proposal's explanatory memorandum estimates direct benefits of around €4 000 a year for a microenterprise and around €42 250 a year for a larger SME, as a modelled outcome under assumed uptake, not a guarantee. Because the Wallet would reuse the European Unique Identifier a company is already assigned under Directive (EU) 2017/1132, the Commission expects no new identifier cost for the roughly 18 million companies that already have one. [1] [9]
Self-employed people and sole traders would not need a full Business Wallet to reach its secure communication channel: Article 5(3) lets them use it through their own European Digital Identity Wallet, which the memorandum estimates at around €45 a year based on current market prices. [1]
What would change on the other side
Article 16 would require public sector bodies to accept the core functionalities for identification, signing or sealing, document submission, and notifications, for the purpose of a reporting obligation or an administrative procedure, within 24 months of the Regulation entering into force. An SME that adopts a Wallet early would have somewhere it can already be used for that purpose. [1]