Digital Wallets: Trust Frameworks - Governing the Ecosystem

World Bank

Published

01 Jul 2026

This policy note—the second in a series on digital wallets—explains how trustframeworks provide that governance foundation. In other words, this note isdesigned to help governments move beyond the question of how to build a walletto the more fundamental question of how to build trust in a wallet ecosystem.Trust frameworks define the rules, standards, roles, and accountabilitymechanisms that ensure digital wallets, credential issuers, and verifiers operatein a way that can be trusted. They determine who is allowed to issue credentials,how identity verification must be performed, how wallets must protect keysand sensitive data, how compliance is verified, and who bears liability whenthings go wrong. Without such governance, even the most technically soundcredentials can leave the door wide open for impersonation, tampering, or othertypes of fraud. This policy note proposes a five-layer model for trust frameworks and shows how these layers reinforce one another. The first strategic layer establishes the shared vision, objectives, scope, and guiding principles that anchor the entire scheme.The second technology layer defines the technical architecture, standards,and security requirements needed to ensure interoperability and trustworthyoperations. The third scheme rules layer sets out the policies, procedures, androle definitions that operationalize the framework for all participants. The fourthcompliance layer provides mechanisms for assessing, supervising, and enforcingadherence to the agreed rules and technical standards. The fifth agreement layerformalizes these elements into binding instruments that give the trust frameworkits legal force and clarify rights, obligations, and liabilities.