Verifiable credential Definition.

A tamper-proof, cryptographically signed digital credential whose data model (W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0) has been a W3C Recommendation since May 2025. It lets the holder prove an attribute, such as identity, authorization or a mandate, selectively and verifiably, without contacting the issuer online. A building block of the European Digital Identity Wallet (eIDAS 2.0), it also underpins mandates in agentic payment protocols such as AP2.

See also

→ KYA (Know Your Agent)→ AP2 (Agent Payments Protocol)→ Passkey

Where this term appears

GuideAgentic payments: the fundamentalsGuideAI agent identity and mandatesCourseAgentic payments: the fundamentalsCourseAgentic payments: integration and readiness

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