Digital ID on its own isn’t enough to satisfy the World Bank; it must be made interoperable with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in order to control access to all life services.

Without being connected to every service that governments and corporations require of their citizens and customers, digital ID on its own isn’t very useful, but rather it’s the first step to unlocking what the World Bank calls “its full potential” — to plug it into the digital control grid known as DPI.

“Digital ID is a vital building block of digital transformation, but on its own it can’t unlock its full potential. Its value lies in a broader Digital Public Infrastructure—the systems that make digital services work together: digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing”World Bank, “Unlocking opportunity: How digital ID can transform lives in Sierra Leone,” December 2025

Read more: Digital ID alone isn’t enough, needs to be interoperable to access life services: World Bank