MyGov introduced as new official alternative to ItsMe

The Belgian government has launched MyGov.be as an official alternative to digital authentication app ItsMe for logging in to public service websites.

The MyGov.be app, a digital wallet launched by the Belgian federal government in 2024, now allows residents to log in to public websites such as MyPension or Tax-on-web.

Initially presented as a kind of digital wallet in which residents could access a whole range of administrative documents from their smartphones, the app has expanded its capabilities since launch.

It now offers users an identification function which, like ItsMe, allows them to authenticate themselves on public websites.

“We have launched the authentication function in the FAS (Federal Authentication Service),” said Christine Mahieu, head of e-government projects in the federal civil service.

“The FAS is the authentication system that provides all the keys. This is where you can also find the means to authenticate yourself via your electronic identity card with the card reader or via Itsme or even via SMS or by email.”

The creation of the official digital wallet responds to a European obligation set out in the eIDAS (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services) regulation, which requires member states to provide residents with such a tool.

To use the app, you must first install the MyGov.be app on your smartphone from the App Store or Google Play Store, then activate the app as specified on the MyGov.be website.

If a user recently tried to log in to public platforms such as Mypension, Myminfin or My eBox, for example, they might have noticed that the blue logo for identification via MyGov.be is now available as well as ItsMe.

Identification via MyGov.be is one option among others, with no obligation to use it.

If the millions of Belgians using ItsMe do not wish to switch, they do not have to. The federal authorities have no intention of dispensing with the services of ItsMe, an application with which a partnership has been established.

ItsMe is a private solution launched in 2017 by Belgian Mobile ID, a consortium of four major Belgian banks (Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC and ING) and the major telecom operators Proximus, Telenet and Orange.

These companies wanted to simplify the connection of their customers by creating a unique digital identity and the success of this system led the government to collaborate with ItsMe to enable residents to authenticate themselves on Belgian public websites.

While ItsMe is privately owned, MyGov.be offers an alternative that is 100% state-owned.

“We appreciate the fact that the government has chosen to continue the digitalisation of the country,” ItsMe’s management told RTBF.

“For ItsMe, this changes nothing in terms of cooperation with the government. We remain fully committed to the strength and current success of a public-private partnership.”

Mahieu also emphasised that the government remains happy with the services ItsMe provides, and that the creation of the MyGov alternative is “a legal obligation”.