The OpenID Foundation has announced that interoperability testing for its OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance (OpenID4VCI) specification achieved an 87 percent success rate. The testing involved 59 pairings between seven issuers and five wallets providers from around the world, with 47 successful outcomes. The trials were conducted in real-world conditions over eight days, with participants engaging in live remediation of issues as they emerged.
Real-World Testing Yields Promising Results
The tests focused on version 16 of the OpenID4VCI specification, as well as the High Assurance Interoperability Profile (HAIP), ISO/IEC standards for mobile driving licenses, and draft 17 of the IETF’s SD-JWT protocol. These standards are central to emerging global frameworks for digital identity issuance and verification. The results are now being shared with international standardization bodies including ISO/IEC, W3C, and ETSI, as well as government partners involved in the European Commission’s EUDI Wallet and the U.S. NIST NCCoE mobile driver’s license project.
“Today the OIDF is proud to announce that the OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance specification has proven interoperability through the pairwise testing of seven issuers and five wallets providers from around the world,” said Gail Hodges, Executive Director of the OpenID Foundation. The specification is now in a 60-day public review period, after which OpenID Foundation members will vote on its formal approval as a final standard.
Global Digital ID Integration Accelerates
The announcement comes as governments continue to advance cross-border digital identity solutions. The European Union is piloting privacy-preserving digital age verification systems in France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Greece as part of its broader EUDI Wallet initiative. Meanwhile, Greece and Cyprus recently linked their national digital ID systems, marking the first bilateral integration under the European digital identity framework.
Although the 87 percent success rate reflects substantial progress, some compatibility issues remain. The OpenID Foundation reported that 11 percent of test pairings experienced resolvable issues, while two percent failed without clear explanation. Feedback from the tests is now being used by the Digital Credentials Protocols Working Group to refine the specification and assist implementers in resolving remaining gaps.
The strong performance of OpenID4VCI in cross-vendor testing suggests it may play a key role in enabling interoperable digital identity ecosystems. As governments and organizations increasingly pursue verifiable credentials for identity verification, successful interoperability will be critical for building trust and scale across jurisdictions.
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
