Digital IDs are being rolled out globally; from Europe to Ethiopia to Australia

Digital IDs are being rolled out globally; from Europe to Ethiopia to Australia

Rhoda Wilson

Here is a collection of news items and social media posts from the last week relating to the rollout of digital identities in various countries.  But first, a brief look at who is behind the push to be able to digitally identify every person on Earth.

1. Bill Gates’ Inclusive Financial Systems: Gates’ goal is to expand access to his digital financial services to people in the lowest-income communities around the globe.

“We work with our partners to support public and private investment in digital payment infrastructure, new regulatory standards, and gender equality initiatives such as digitised government benefit payments, to ensure continued progress toward the promise of financial inclusion,” the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation webpage for its Inclusive Financial Systems states.

2. ‘Digital IDs are an effective tool against poverty’: This is the deceptive title of an article, one of the updates for Gates’ Inclusive Financial Systems mentioned above, published by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Digital ID systems are one of the three pillars of what’s known as digital public infrastructure (DPI); the others are digital payment systems and data exchange systems,” the article stated.

Further reading: Western taxpayers are funding the global rollout of the controligarchs’ surveillance and control system, The Exposé

The article goes on to note that Gates is offering his Modular Open Source Identity Platform (“MOSIP”) to all countries so they can build their own national identity systems for free.  For free?  Really? Nothing is for free. Just because Gates is not asking for money upfront, it does not mean that he is not taking something in return.

 “The original inspiration for MOSIP was India’s national digital ID system, Aadhaar, which launched in 2009. This ambitious effort would eventually enrol over 99% of all Indian adults,”  the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said.

3. Philippines experts weigh in on leveraging fintech, blockchain solutions: With insights from industry leaders, the discourse on ‘Rebuilding Trust in the New Global Digital Economy and Digital Identity’ highlighted how blockchain offers secure, transparent, and efficient avenues for global trade and financial inclusion.

Andrew Chung, Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer of TradeLink, emphasised the need to establish a universal mechanism for digital identity in cross-border transactions. He highlighted the significance of leveraging electronic passports and digital certificates to authenticate people globally.

“We need to find a solution that can be used, no matter where you are, as long as you are wanting to do business with your friends from the Philippines, people in Hong Kong, or other countries,” Chung said.

4. National Digital IDs for refugees in Ethiopia: The Government of Ethiopia, through its Refugees and Returnees Service (“RRS”) in partnership with the National ID Program (“NIDP”) and the UN Refugees Agency (“UNHCR”) launched an initiative to include refugees and asylum seekers into the Ethiopian Digital ID system.

The cards, which contain a unique identification number dubbed Fayda, are intended to enable this category of persons to get access to important social services, according to an announcement by the UNHCR.

5. Digital wallet use in Greece: During March, 105,237 Greek citizens downloaded the Gov.gr Wallet application on their mobile phones.  The number of Greeks who have downloaded the digital wallet since its launch in July 2022 is estimated at 1,877,032. The government recently expanded the application’s use making it mandatory for entrance in stadiums as of 9 April.

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