FAQ

We recognize we are embarking on an ambitious undertaking. Thus, NTT Digital and Accenture’s aim is not necessarily to build this alone, and we are open to exploring partnership opportunities across the business and technology ecosystem players relevant to UWI. As an expression of our collaborative, partnership-minded focus, the infrastructure we seek to build will be based on open standards, enabling companies that are already pioneering in this space to tap into UWI.

There are solutions in the market for specific use cases. However, they are point solutions that lack interoperability across the domains that we think underpin an individual’s digital life. The playing field is admittedly busy. There are numerous digital wallets already in the market today such as the ones offered by Google and Apple; however, these solutions lack the degree of interoperability, user-control, transparency, and enablement for data collaboration across enterprises and ecosystems.

Beyond Apple and Google, the majority of wallet technology solutions in-market today tend to be point solutions with a focus on areas such as payments, crypto, and NFTs. As we look across the market, we see a clear need for an infrastructure that enables us to tie together identity, money, and objects in a tamper-proof manner.

Given the above conditions, we see limited alternatives to Universal Wallet Infrastructure. We think UWI is a mandate given key signals on the identity front that point to growing momentum for digital identity and the intersection of digital money and objects.

• The EU Digital Identity initiative is accelerating the wide adoption of digital identity

• Apple and Google have both ventured into identity (e.g., Apple Wallet can now hold digital IDs for 4 states in the US: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland)

• In its next iOS release, Apple will enable businesses to leverage an API to validate a user’s identity

Universal Wallet Infrastructure is the next logical evolutions of all these initiatives that will bring everything together and unlock the next level of experiences for the consumer and new engagement opportunities for consumer centric businesses.

Today, wallets do not fully meet users’ needs:

We plan a series of rapid drops over the next 18+ months starting early 2025 as we release new UWI functionality, engage the ecosystem of collaborators, and activate the market through announcements and publications to educate the network and its users. This timeline will continue to evolve. We have a program for early adopters to stay up-to-date on current developments and get a view into new functionality before its release for education and testing purposes.

There is a transformative shift towards decentralization, cross-organization collaboration, and enabling user control over data. These trends are no longer subtle undercurrents; they are compelling organizations to aggressively adopt new realities and forge a path toward adopting enabling technologies. It is estimated that there will be 5.2Bn digital wallet users globally by 2026. Consumer demands and government regulations are accelerating the adoption of digital wallets. Governments have realized the potential of digital ID infrastructure and are actively pushing for their adoption as evidenced in Europe by eIDAS regulations requiring EU digital ID wallets for all citizens and multiple states in the US having issued multi-purpose mobile driving licenses for biometric integration, holder control over data, and data privacy. Similarly, consumers and businesses are also fuelling the trend, driven by the potential for better privacy, personalization & control.

For UWI, we plan to a series of rapid drops over the next 18+ months starting early 2025 as we release new UWI functionality, engage the ecosystem of collaborators, and activate the market through announcements and publications to educate the network and its users. This timeline will continue to evolve. We have a program for early adopters to stay up-to-date on current developments and get a view into new functionality before its release for education and testing purposes.

The Universal Wallet Infrastructure (UWI) acts as a secure, decentralized foundation that supports flexible and privacy-preserving data exchanges, designed to align with diverse business models across insurance ecosystems. Because UWI is a business-process-agnostic platform, it seamlessly integrates into existing insurance workflows—whether Direct-to-Consumer (D2C), agency-based, or hybrid models—offering insurers the agility to adopt and evolve cost structures as needed.

For Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) insurance models, UWI can streamline customer interactions and reduce reliance on traditional intermediaries by enabling insurers to connect directly with customers in a secure and compliant manner. This model can lower costs by eliminating or reducing intermediaries, which is often a significant expense in agency-driven models. UWI provides real-time data exchange that allows insurers to offer more personalized and transparent services, responding to the demands of digital-native consumers.

In a commission-based model, UWI retains flexibility by incorporating intermediaries, such as agents or brokers, directly into the decentralized network. This inclusion enables real-time data sharing and secure, automated compensation management that adheres to existing commission structures. By reducing friction in information exchange and allowing agents to interact seamlessly within the network, UWI can preserve the commission-based cost structure while potentially reducing overheads associated with data validation, compliance checks, and manual reconciliation processes.

In essence, UWI does not mandate a specific cost structure but instead enhances the insurer’s ability to scale and adapt their chosen model efficiently. Whether adopting D2C channels with reduced reliance on intermediaries or preserving commission-based models with added automation, UWI provides insurers the flexibility to refine their cost models, aligning them more closely with their strategic objectives while potentially driving down operational costs through process efficiencies.

Historically, we’ve seen that a strong, supportive ecosystem is key to driving broad adoption of a product or service. While early adopters can provide valuable initial traction, true scalability occurs once a critical mass is reached, unlocking network effects that fuel exponential growth.

Ecosystem: UWI is built to excel in a collaborative, multi-stakeholder ecosystem, where every participant—whether a strategic partner, industry leader, or service provider—plays a crucial role in advancing the ecosystem’s evolution. We have already established a robust network of partners, thought leaders, and innovators across key industries and standards organizations. The collaborative model we’ve put in place is driving a continuous cycle of innovation and value creation.

Enterprise Adoption: As early adopters and industry leaders begin to embed UWI within their organizations, the tangible business benefits will incentivize their partners and ecosystem participants to adopt similar approaches. This creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop, where the success of early adopters drives wider market adoption, triggering a snowball effect that accelerates enterprise integration across the value chain.

User Adoption: Several macroeconomic and regulatory trends are converging to drive increased demand for UWI’s capabilities. The heightened focus on digital security, data privacy, and compliance – coupled with growing consumer expectations for personalized, seamless, and comprehensive experiences – will significantly boost user demand. As customers within an organization recognize the value of UWI, they will naturally seek its integration with other service providers, creating bottom-up pressure on businesses to expand its adoption. This customer-driven demand will act as a strong catalyst, urging companies to quickly scale UWI’s integration across their digital ecosystems and core business processes.