In December the Kuwaiti government reminded their population that if they do not get fingerprinted by the end of 2024 they will be de-banked. It is now being reported that 7 percent of the country has failed to get fingerprinted and now risks being removed from the economy.
“Around 244,000 expatriates, 16,000 Kuwaitis and 90,000 Bidoons (those without official documents) have not shown up to undergo the fingerprinting procedure, according to official figures,” Gulf News said December 31, 2024.
The initial deadline to be fingerprinted was extended multiple times. Those who failed to get fingerprinted by the end of September 2024 were blocked from digital banking in October, however authorities have denied any plans to fine or imprison people who fail to be fingerprinted.
Vietnam has recently followed a very similar path with their biometric digital ID rollout.
2025 has been said to be the ‘year of digital ID‘ by industry experts, with most U.S. states being expected to roll out their own digital ID smartphone apps. The U.K. has rolled out its digital ID app, although like other first world countries it is not mandatory, yet.
Ethiopia is another county which is undergoing a digital biometric transformation. Between now and December 31, 2026 a requirement to have a digital ID (called Fayda) to conduct banking activities will go into effect.
“The move to make Fayda mandatory for banking operations was first announced last year, and it is a joint endeavour of the National Bank of Ethiopia (the country’s central bank) and the National ID Program (NIDP),” Biometric Update said Monday.
Notably, Ethiopian identification documents require the individual to have their fingerprints, face and eyeballs scanned.
“For biometric data; fingerprint, iris, and face photograph are collected for absolute identification measures,” the Ethiopian National ID website said.
Having already rolled out their biometric digital ID, Nigeria is seeking to scan even more body parts with a new initiative investigating the potential for the country to begin scanning eyeballs, in addition to the fingerprints and faces it already scans.
“The National Identity Management Commission of Nigeria (NIMC) says it is looking at ways of streamlining and expanding the rollout of digital ID in Nigeria and one of the options on the table is adding iris biometrics to its digital ID enrollment,” Biometric Update said Monday. “At the moment, biometric enrollment for the National Identification Number (NIN) in Nigeria involves face and fingerprints. Adding the iris modality, according to the official, will make it possible for citizens with disabilities to be equally issued the important credential which is necessary to access a wide range of services in the country.”
Business research and analysis outlet Goode Research published the fourth edition of their Biometric Payments – Market & Technology Analysis, Adoption Strategies & Forecasts 2025-2030 document on Monday. It detailed that there will be over 3.5 billion biometric payment users by 2030 and that total revenue for biometric suppliers from payments will surpass $11.3 billion by 2030.