Special Interest Group Proposal: Wallet Interoperability Special Interest Group (WISIG)

[swcurran]

Introduction/background material

The Wallet Interoperability Special Interest Group (WISIG) is proposed as a dedicated group within the OpenWallet Foundation (OWF) to focus on defining, publishing, and testing wallet interoperability profiles (WIPs). The profiles do not define standards or specifications. Rather the profiles point to specific versions of a set of standards and/or specifications relevant to the profile’s technical stack. The group will play a similar role to that of the Hyperledger Aries Working Group, which developed the successful Aries Interop Profiles 1.0 and 2.0. WISIG will define how to create a wallet interoperability profiles, and create WIPs for different wallet technical stacks, ensuring that digital wallets implementations adhere to the global standards referenced in the profile and can interact seamlessly with one another. The group will start by taking over maintenance of the existing AIP 2.0 profile, and create additional, parallel Wallet Interoperability Profiles that cover other technical stacks, such as OpenID4VCs, mDL/mDocs and so on. The group will also develop tools and guidance for testing the profiles to enable demonstrations of compliance and interoperability, leveraging existing test suites where available, and developing new test suites as needed.

We believe, based on the success of the Aries Working Group and the Aries Interop Profiles, that the Wallet Interoperability Special Interest Group (WISIG) can play a crucial role in advancing the OWF's mission to create secure, interoperable, and open digital wallet ecosystems. By defining, publishing, and testing Wallet Interop Profiles (WIP), the WISIG will ensure that wallets adhering to OWF profiles can operate seamlessly across diverse platforms, enhancing user experience, security, and trust in digital wallets. Through collaboration, innovation, and community engagement, WISIG will drive the adoption of the referenced standards and contribute to the growth and sustainability of decentralized digital identity ecosystems.

Objectives

Define Wallet Interop Profiles (WIPs)

• Develop a set of formalized wallet interoperability profiles (WIPs) that outline the necessary protocols, data models, and security requirements for wallet interoperability within a given interoperability stack.
• Ensure these profiles cover various use cases for a given technical stack, including peer-to-peer transactions, credential issuance and verification, secure messaging, and identity management.

Publish and Maintain WIPs

• Publish WIP documents that clearly define how implementations of the profile should interoperate for a given wallet technical stack.
• Regularly update and refine these profiles based on community feedback, technological advancements, and emerging needs.

Testing and Certification

• Develop testing tools to validate wallet implementations against the defined profiles.
• Provide guidance on the use of other test suites in verifying compliance with the standards on which the profiles are based.
• Where appropriate, establish a certification process for wallet implementations that meet the interoperability criteria defined in the WIP.
• Maintain a registry of verified and certified wallet implementations to promote trust and adoption.

Collaboration and Community Engagement

• Engage with wallet developers, identity providers, and other stakeholders to gather input and ensure WIPs meet the needs of the broader ecosystem.
• Welcome community members to both raise interoperability concerns and ideas, and to demonstrate their achievements in the interoperability of their wallet implementations.
• Collaborate with other OWF SIGs, such as those focused on security, identity, and UX/UI, to ensure the WIPs are comprehensive and cohesive.
• Foster an open and inclusive environment where community members can contribute to the development and refinement of WIPs, and tools for testing.

Advocacy and Adoption

• Promote the adoption of WIPs across the digital wallet industry.
• Publish the results of wallet implementation WIP test suite executions.
• Provide educational resources, workshops, and webinars to help developers understand and implement WIPs in their wallet solutions.

List of deliverables or work products (optional)

Wallet Interop Profiles (WIPs)

• Structure of and process for defining WIPs
• The creation of profiles as deemed needed by the members.
• Periodic versioned updates to the defined WIPs as technology evolves.

Testing Framework and Tools

• As needed per profile, a suite of tools and frameworks for testing wallet implementation compliance with a given WIP. Where possible, existing test suites will be used.
• Documentation and guides for using these testing tools.
• A mechanism for publishing the adherence of wallet implementations to the tests defined for a WIP.

Certification Programs

• Formal certification processes for wallets that implement a given WIP.
• A publicly accessible registry of WIP-certified wallets.

Community Engagement Initiatives

• Webinars, workshops, and other educational resources to promote WIPs.
• Collaborative events to gather feedback and foster innovation in wallet interoperability.

Leader

• Leadership: WISIG will be led by a Chair and Co-Chair, elected annually by the SIG members. The leadership will be responsible for setting the agenda, coordinating meetings, and representing the SIG within the OWF. Sam Curren and Stephen Curran are prepared to self-nominate as the initial Chair and Co-Chair.
• Membership: Membership is open to anyone (individuals and organizations) interested in wallet interoperability. Members are encouraged to actively participate in discussions, contribute to working groups, and assist in the development of WIPs.
• Working Items: WISIG will create specific work items focused on different aspects of wallet interoperability, such as WIP development, WIP testing, and certification. These work items will report to the SIG and be responsible for producing deliverables in their respective areas.
• Meetings: WISIG will hold regular meetings to discuss progress, review proposals, and plan activities. Work items members may meet more frequently as needed.
• Decision-Making: Decisions within WISIG will be made by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions will be made by a majority vote of active members.

Initial Participant List

• Stephen Curran
• Sam Curren
• Members of the current Aries Working Group
• Sheldon Regular
• John Jordan
• Stavros Kounis
• \<Add your Name Here>

[tkuhrt]

Thanks for the proposal, @swcurran. I have added this proposal to Wednesday's TAC meeting (September 18th). We will cover this proposal after the project proposals (assuming time remaining). One thing I noticed that might cause concern for some of the OWF members is the comment that this SIG will create standards. Might be worth checking on whether this is the correct language.

[swcurran]

I'll check that. I know that it specifically says it won't, and that is the plan. Reference specs and standards, don't create them.

[swcurran]

Changed the word "standardized" to "formalized" to clarify that the WISIG does not define standards, just profiles that point to specifications and standards.

[swcurran]

My apologizes for not doing a full re-read of the content and evaluating each use of the word "standard". I have now done that a removed all instances that don't reference standards developed elsewhere. To be clear, and as noted in the opening of the text above: "Wallet interoperability profiles (WIPs)...do not define standards or specifications. Rather the profiles point to specific versions of a set of standards and/or specifications relevant to the profile’s technical stack."

Standards work is done elsewhere!

Sorry for the confusion, @tkuhrt @skounis !

[tkuhrt]

Approved at the October 2, 2024 TAC meeting

[davidejalexander]

Would you please add me to the participants list please