Fee-Based SPID Paths Add Pressure to Italy’s Shift Toward CIE and IT Wallet

Italy’s digital identity market is gradually shifting toward credentials issued directly by the state as private providers behind the SPID system begin introducing fee-based options while the government expands the reach of its own identity infrastructure. The shift is not the result of a single legislative change, but recent updates from government agencies and identity providers suggest that the long-standing private federation model behind SPID is no longer the only center of gravity in the country’s digital identity ecosystem.

SPID, or the Public Digital Identity System, is Italy’s federated digital identity framework in which accredited private providers issue credentials that citizens use to access government services online. A March 2025 update from Italy’s Innovation Department said access to public services was evolving across three channels: SPID, the state-issued CIE electronic identity card, and App IO, the government’s mobile services platform. At that time, the department said more than 40 million SPID credentials had been issued, while the government had produced more than 50 million CIE cards.

Since then, the state-operated infrastructure has continued to expand. An official government update on IT Wallet, the digital credential wallet integrated into App IO, said the service had surpassed 10 million activations by February 17, 2026 and contained more than 17.3 million digital documents by March 11. The rollout gives the government a growing distribution channel for digital credentials that can be issued and managed directly through its own mobile ecosystem.

Meanwhile, the economics of SPID are becoming less straightforward for users. The official SPID provider comparison page notes that some identity verification methods used during enrollment may involve fees. One provider, Aruba, says on its consumer page that its SPID credential is free during the first year and then renews at 4.90 euros plus VAT annually. The presence of such pricing models does not mean that all SPID options require payment, but it does show that the private-provider model is no longer universally free or frictionless.

That dynamic makes Italy a useful case study for the broader European digital identity landscape. As the European Commission advances EUDI Wallet implementation work and countries such as Sweden move ahead with plans for a state-run electronic identity system, Italy illustrates how a federated identity ecosystem can gradually give way to credentials issued and distributed more directly by the state through wallet-based infrastructure.

Sources: Innovation Department, Innovation Department, SPID.gov.it, Aruba

–

By the ID Tech Editorial Team