Ethiopia’s national digital identity programme is moving deeper into the financial system through new institutional integrations, as total registrations under the Fayda platform rise beyond 33 million, officials said.

The National ID Programme is currently working with the National Bank of Ethiopia to link bank account numbers with Fayda digital identities, a step intended to strengthen identity verification across the banking sector and support a more secure financial system.

Saminas Seyfu, director of stakeholder engagement and public relations at the National ID Programme Office told Fana Media Corporation that the system is increasingly being embedded into core public and financial infrastructure, following earlier integrations with revenue collection platforms that have already produced measurable results.

Institutional uptake has expanded alongside individual registrations. More than 60 million identity verification checks have been conducted by organisations using the Fayda system, reflecting growing reliance on the platform for service delivery and customer authentication.

Operational capacity has also been scaled up. The number of registration machines deployed nationwide has reached seven thousand, enabling faster enrolment and wider geographic coverage over the past six months.

Saminas said recent progress has helped limit fraud and enabled the adoption of modern digital technologies, particularly within the financial sector, where digital identity is becoming central to system security and service efficiency.

He added that Fayda is increasingly being used to streamline access to services across both public and private institutions, positioning digital identity as a foundational layer for service delivery.

The programme plans to bring additional institutions onto the platform, complete ongoing financial sector integrations and expand the range of services built on the Fayda system.

Saminas also urged citizens to remain alert to false or misleading information related to digital identity registration, as the system continues to scale nationally.