Digital identity company Signicat has selected TÜV Austria as its single conformity assessment body for eIDAS-related audits, replacing a fragmented assessment structure developed through its expansion across Europe.
The appointment, confirmed on 20 October 2026, will bring work previously distributed among five assessment bodies under one organisation. The transition will take place gradually, with Signicat intending to maintain compliance across its services while the arrangements change.
Signicat provides identity verification, authentication and electronic signing services used by banks, financial technology businesses and other organisations handling digital transactions.
The company said eight acquisitions in recent years had contributed to the complexity of its assessment arrangements. Acquired businesses brought existing services and relationships with certification providers into the group, leaving separate processes for demonstrating compliance.
Among those acquisitions was Sphonic, the UK-based fraud and compliance technology company purchased in 2022. The transaction added to Signicat’s activities in Britain and formed part of the wider European expansion that prompted the assessment review.
The selection of TÜV Austria concerns Signicat’s eIDAS-related conformity assessments. It is not a newly awarded certification covering every product, and it does not establish that the planned consolidation has already been completed.
Conformity assessment bodies examine whether relevant systems, processes and services meet specified regulatory and technical requirements. For digital trust services, assessment can involve reviewing security controls, operational arrangements and evidence supporting compliance.
The European Union’s eIDAS framework governs electronic identification and trust services, including aspects of electronic signatures and related digital transactions. Its revised provisions also support the development of European Digital Identity Wallets.
These changes are relevant to Signicat’s operations across European markets, where identity providers must accommodate requirements applying to the particular services and jurisdictions concerned.
Britain operates a separate UK eIDAS framework following its departure from the European Union. The EU’s revised requirements do not automatically become UK legal obligations, and a conformity assessment for an EU service cannot simply be treated as certification of an equivalent UK service.
Signicat’s British operations therefore provide a commercial connection to the appointment, particularly through the acquisition of Sphonic and the group’s provision of identity services to international customers. The October disclosure does not establish that TÜV Austria has been appointed to certify every UK-regulated Signicat service.
Signicat already works with TÜV Austria on assessment of its identity proofing service. The new decision extends that relationship to the group’s eIDAS-related audit programme, creating a common provider for work previously handled through several assessment organisations.
Jon Ølnes, Signicat’s vice-president of digital identity and regulation, said the company had examined potential assessment providers before selecting TÜV Austria. He attributed the decision to the complexity resulting from acquisitions and the preparations required for European digital identity developments.
According to Ølnes, the company sought an approach capable of consolidating existing arrangements while accommodating changes associated with the introduction of European Digital Identity Wallets.
The planned transition is intended to make it easier for Signicat to coordinate audit activity and maintain a consistent record of assessment work across its European services.
That does not remove the need to assess different products against their applicable requirements. Identity proofing, authentication and electronic signing involve different technical functions, and their regulatory treatment depends on the service and market concerned.
Signicat also intends to examine opportunities to coordinate eIDAS assessment activity with work involving other assurance frameworks, including ISO standards and SOC 2 reporting.
These frameworks serve different purposes. Coordinating administrative or audit activity does not make their requirements interchangeable or mean that successful assessment against one automatically satisfies another.
Clemens Wanko, head of TÜV Austria’s accredited conformity assessment body for eIDAS, welcomed the appointment and identified the growing complexity of interconnected digital identity services as a reason for more coordinated assessment arrangements.
TÜV Austria provides testing, inspection and certification services internationally. Its activities include information security and assessments associated with electronic identification and trust services.
Signicat’s technology combines identity proofing, authentication, electronic signing and orchestration within its Digital Identity Platform. Customers can use these services individually or together as part of digital onboarding and ongoing account management.
The group reports serving more than 20,000 customers across 45 countries and employing more than 530 people through 20 offices in 15 European countries. These are company-reported operational figures rather than results of the new assessment arrangement.
Signicat has not disclosed the financial terms of the TÜV Austria appointment, a completion date for the consolidation or quantified administrative savings expected from the change.
The 20 October decision establishes a single provider for the group’s eIDAS-related conformity assessment programme. The migration from the previous arrangements remains to be completed, and relevant services will continue to require assessment against the applicable regulatory standards.
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