swiyu, the Swiss e-ID and digital certificates in education.
swiyu is the wallet and trust infrastructure of the Swiss Confederation. Besides the state e-ID, it can hold credentials from other issuers, including educational institutions. Swiss schools and training providers can issue verifiable certificates that learners keep in swiyu and present to employers.
Why swiyu matters for education
Certificates are among the documents Swiss residents show most often: to employers, to schools, to professional bodies. Once they are available as verifiable credentials in the same wallet as the e-ID, they can be checked in seconds and without calling the issuing school.
What issuing to swiyu involves
An institution needs a verified issuer identity in the Swiss trust infrastructure, a defined credential and an issuing service that delivers it to the wallet. The learner scans a QR code with swiyu and accepts the credential; verification uses OpenID4VP, the same protocol as in the EU. SAPIO operates the issuing side for institutions.
Switzerland and the EU
Swiss and European wallets build on the same open standards. A credential designed with the European Learning Model and issued as SD-JWT VC stays usable when a learner moves between Switzerland and the EU.
SAPIO in the Swiss ecosystem
SAPIO is a Swiss company based in Canton Zug and a member of DIDAS, the Swiss digital trust association, where it leads the Education Working Group. Its pilots include Swiss vocational training, continuing education and a master class at a Swiss university of applied sciences.
In October 2026 SAPIO issued its first verifiable credential to the swiyu wallet in the federal sandbox, as an issuer with its own identity (did:webvh) in the swiyu trust infrastructure.
SAPIO co-authored the DIDAS trust flows for education. They model how a school issues the Maturitätszeugnis as a verifiable credential and how a university uses it, together with the e-ID, to enrol a student. The flows are published openly for discussion; they are not an official specification of swiyu or any authority.
Questions
Do learners need the e-ID to receive a certificate in swiyu?
Issuing a certificate to swiyu is separate from the state e-ID. An institution may ask for identity verification when a credential is claimed; how is defined per use case.
Can a Swiss certificate be verified abroad?
Yes, if the verifier supports the same standards and trusts the issuer. Using the European formats keeps this possible.