Ethiopian banks have authenticated more than two million customer accounts against the Fayda digital ID system as they move to meet an April 8 deadline set by the National Bank of Ethiopia, according to data reported by Shega from the national switch operator EthSwitch.

Daily volumes have risen sharply, with EthSwitch now processing up to 250,000 authentications a day, supported by wider use of online registration and remote verification tools.

Several banks have expanded digital access, including Bank of Abyssinia, Awash Bank, Wegagen Bank, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and Cooperative Bank of Oromia, while Zemen Bank has introduced a hybrid model allowing remote authentication using one-time passwords. As of December 30, Bank of Abyssinia had completed more than 320,000 authentications, followed by Awash Bank with around 270,000.

EthSwitch acts as the technical intermediary linking banks to the national digital ID system. The recent integration of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the country’s largest lender, is expected to further lift volumes. Abenezer Wondwossen, chief portfolio officer at EthSwitch, said that the bank’s scale positions it to overtake private lenders in authentication numbers within a short period.

The acceleration follows a December 10 directive requiring all thirty-one commercial banks to migrate from Verifayda 1 to the more integrated Verifayda 2 electronic know-your-customer platform under the National Digital Payments Strategy 2026–2030. Officials say the framework could cut customer due diligence costs by up to seventy percent while strengthening controls against fraudulent accounts.

By mid-2024, Ethiopia had 272 million bank accounts and mobile money wallets combined, a figure officials say has since increased. The rollout builds on around 30 million Fayda registrations, with the national ID programme targeting 70 million enrollments by 2027. The central bank has yet to clarify how the directive will apply to Ethiopians living abroad who manage domestic bank accounts remotely.