OpenWallet Foundation, the Linux Foundation’s new project

The Linux Foundation has publicly stated that it has embarked on an exciting new project, called OpenWallet Foundation.

A project that could also appeal to the crypto world.

The Linux Foundation announced that it has begun a collaboration with several companies in the industry to create a new consortium, the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF). 

The goal of the OpenWallet Foundation

The goal of the Open Wallet Foundation team is to revolutionize the world of digital wallets, to take an important new step toward making it easier to use money, in any form, through our devices.

The consortium’s main goal is to develop open source software that will achieve interoperability among digital wallets! 

A grand ambition that would make it much easier for all users.

So to recap, OWF wants to develop an open source, multi-purpose, secure “software engine” that everyone can use to create interoperable wallets. 

Interoperability means the ability of a computer system or product to cooperate and exchange information or services with other systems or products in a more or less complete and error-free manner, with reliability and resource optimization.

The OWF therefore does not intend to release its own wallet but, even better, to offer open source software for organizations and companies to be able to develop their own digital wallets. 

The latter will automatically have a wide variety of use cases: identity verification, payments, digital key management, etc.

The concept behind this major initiative is to make users more free to choose by removing them from the indirect constraint of sticking to one platform.

The importance of digital wallets

Nowadays, digital wallets are widely used.

Indeed, it is much easier to forget one’s wallet at home than one’s cell phone! 

The idea of having everything at your fingertips is certainly exciting, so work is being done to make it as easy as possible.

Over time, digital wallets have already improved a great deal.

While in the beginning they were mainly used for contactless payments, they now allow us to store and have a whole range of extremely useful information and documents with us at all times.

It is possible to store just about anything: payment cards, tickets, coupons, IDs, boarding passes, digital car keys and more. 

OWF and cryptocurrencies

There are no references to cryptocurrencies in the press release, but it is almost assumed that interoperability could be extended to digital assets as well.

In addition, Dan Whiting, director for media relations and communications at the Linux Foundation decrypt, said:

“The OWF intends to enable many use cases where digital credentials and digital assets can be stored and easily accessed by users. One potential use case could include a cryptocurrency, but that will not be the only use case that could be addressed by the OWF open source engine.”

Daniel Goldscheider, CEO of open banking startup Yes.com, said:

“With the OpenWallet Foundation, we push for a plurality of wallets based on a common core. I couldn’t be happier with the support this initiative has received already and the home it found at the Linux Foundation.”

Finally, it is only fair to specify that members of the consortium include Accenture, Avast, Okta, OpenID Foundation and Ping Identity.