Ethiopia's Fayda digital ID becomes core layer of national banking

Ethiopia's president says the Fayda national digital ID is driving a financial system with 257 million mobile money and banking accounts, after the central bank ordered banks to align customer records with Fayda numbers and use a Fayda-based verification system for new accounts. A single 12-digit biometric-linked identifier now replaces several paper documents for banking, with 53 million numbers issued. The case shows identity moving from a registration tool to the gateway for financial participation, a pattern relevant to biblical warnings about economic access being tied to identification (Revelation 13:16-17), though nothing here suggests such a fulfilment.