The following points to the United Nations pushing a globalist goal of using digital identification as a way to monitor and change behavior:

Digital Currency and the End of Financial Privacy
April 30, 2026
The push toward digital currency is being framed as innovation and efficiency, but when you strip away the marketing language, what is unfolding is a structural transformation of the financial system that shifts control away from individuals and concentrates it within governments and central banks. The Bank for International Settlements has confirmed that more than 90% of central banks are now actively researching, developing, or piloting central bank digital currencies, which is not coincidence or experimentation but a coordinated global direction. This aligns directly with what I have been warning, that when governments face a sovereign debt crisis they will turn to mechanisms that allow them to monitor and control capital flows because they cannot solve the debt problem through traditional means. …
Cash has not been eliminated yet, but it has been marginalized, and that is the first step because once transactions become digital, every movement of money creates a permanent record. Governments already have the ability to access financial data through banks, but a central bank digital currency removes the intermediary entirely and places that visibility directly within a centralized system controlled by the state.
This is where the real shift takes place because a CBDC is not simply a digital version of existing currency, it is a programmable financial instrument. That means money itself can be controlled, restricted, or directed according to policy decisions. Transactions could be approved or denied in real time, spending could be limited to certain categories, and funds could even be given expiration dates to force consumption. …
The issue ultimately comes down to control rather than convenience because while digital systems offer efficiency, they also eliminate anonymity. Cash has always provided a degree of financial privacy because transactions could occur without leaving a trace. Once that disappears, every economic action becomes visible and potentially subject to oversight. That fundamentally alters the relationship between individuals and the state because financial independence is replaced with conditional access to money. https://www.activistpost.com/digital-currency-and-the-end-of-financial-privacy/

India, the world’s most populous nation, is starting to use a CBDC:

India Quietly Scales CBDC: $80B Welfare System Moves Toward e-Rupee
27 April 2026
India is no longer just experimenting with central bank digital currencies it’s actively integrating them into one of the largest public spending systems in the world. Recent developments show that the country is routing parts of its $80 billion welfare infrastructure through the e-rupee, a digital currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India. …
Maharashtra: Programmable Subsidies in Action
In rural Maharashtra, the concept is already producing tangible results. Farmers in Phulenagar village are receiving subsidies for drip irrigation systems directly through the e-rupee.
These payments come with built-in restrictions:
Funds can only be spent on approved vendors
Up to 80% of equipment costs are covered
No upfront payment is required from farmers
This eliminates both financial barriers and misuse. https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/317303456923202

It also eliminates financial freedom and privacy. We see that governments can use digital currencies as a way to monitor, change, and control people–and that is starting to be implemented.

What about Europe?

Consider the following:

Does the EU Need a Digital Euro?
April 27, 2026
Central bank digital currencies are not as voguish as they once were. For several years starting in the mid-2010s, there was a flourishing of interest in the idea, with scores of central banks exploring it—more than 120 by some counts. Unlike a cryptocurrency, a CBDC would be issued by a state, creating a digital supply of money that would be neither mediated by commercial banks nor subject to the volatility and security concerns associated with crypto.
While many CBDC projects have fallen by the wayside, many Europeans are still keen on the notion of a digital euro. …
The rationale for a digital euro nowadays is based more around geopolitics and sovereign capabilities. As that open letter to the European Parliament put it:
Today, Europe’s payment system is dominated by a handful of non-European corporations. In thirteen euro-area countries, basic retail payments now rely entirely on international card schemes—without any domestic alternative. This dependence on foreign (US) payment providers exposes European citizens, businesses and governments to geopolitical leverage, foreign commercial interests, and systemic risks beyond Europe’s control. Recent developments have made this more than a hypothetical risk. Without a meaningful digital euro, our dependence will deepen as US-backed private digital currencies are gaining ground. Europe will lose control over the most fundamental element in our economy: our money.
Of course, not everyone is convinced. Many argue that a CBDC would also come with a loss of privacy, or that if Europe wants to reduce its reliance on Visa and Mastercard, then simply building a European card payment infrastructure is an easier step. …
In its February poll, the Clark Center addressed the kinds of fears mentioned in the open letter, querying panelists about both a retail CBDC (for use by consumers) and a wholesale version of the currency (for use by financial institutions). The panel was asked whether “without a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), Europe risks a further loss of control over its monetary system to foreign payment service providers, including US Big Tech platforms and US stablecoin issuers.” Weighted by confidence in their answers, 67 percent of the panel either agreed or strongly agreed. …
The poll illuminates the enduring support for a digital euro even as policymakers in other economic areas lose interest. And it suggests that as long as there are concerns about overexposure to foreign institutions both on the retail and wholesale sides of the financial world, the idea of a CBDC in the eurozone won’t go out of style. https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/does-eu-need-digital-euro

Yes, the EU wants more financial independence from the USA. Hence, yes it wants to eliminate VISA and MasterCard. Yes, it wants to be able to monitor and surveil. Policies from the USA are further motivating it.

Notice some of number 14 from my list of 26 items to prophetically watch in 2026:

14. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and 666
Notice the following prophecy:
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Revelation 13:16-18)
This type of financial surveillance could not have happened during the time of the Apostle John as there was no real way to monitor many financial transactions then (despite the fact that ‘preterists’ believe this was fulfilled almost 2000 years ago, see also The Dangerous Rise of Preterists). The same was true for all the centuries that followed until the late 20th and now the 21st century. But now not only does the technology exist to monitor most financial transactions, the political will is there as well.
It will be a European power that will fulfill the above prophecy of 666 (watch Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?).
It will likely take supercomputers aided with artificial intelligence to aid in the fulfillment of the scriptures in Revelation 13:15-18, as well as cyber-spying/monitoring. I do believe that cyber monitoring will be used by the European Beast, King of the North, 666 power. …
The Europeans, themselves, will continue to push for a CBDC or other type of digital currency.
Many within BRICS will push for a CBDC or other form of digital currency.
While 2026 will not see a cashless world, expect to see more movements towards monitorable payments.
Expect to see more steps related to Central Bank Digital Currencies in 2026.
The fall of the US dollar and the trend towards digital money will concern many.
Look for more totalitarian steps to be proposed and/or implemented in 2026.

Are CBDCs a good thing?

The Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel discussing various views and scriptures about that:

14:37
CBDCs and a Cashless Society
“Bringing you news and analysis of world events in light of Bible prophecy.” This one of the mandates of the Continuing Church of God. The Beast of Revelation is shown as controlling all buying and selling. Might CBDCs fill a role in that control? The Bank of International Settlement predicts there will be at least 9 CBDCs in circulation by 2030. Globalists would prefer a faster pace. What nations or groups of nations are pushing for a Central Bank Digital Currency? There is one group of nations that has claimed it wants to be the dominant force in a CBDC. Will this group of nations become a tie-in to the 666 Mark of the Beast? How close are we to CBDCs? Dr. Thiel uses verses from Bible prophecy to shine the light of understanding on the dangers of the coming Beast power and the cashless society promised by CBDCs. You can read the corresponding article to this video titled “Yes, there are threats of cashlessness, most in NZ, Canada, the US, & Australia oppose CBDCs, yet the IMF continues to push for CBDCs.”

Here is a link to our video: CBDCs and a Cashless Society.

The European ‘666’ will arise and control buying and selling.

It will be a European power that will fulfill the above prophecy of 666 (watch Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?).

Digital currency will come to Europe.

Some items of related interest may include the following:

The Mark of Antichrist What is the mark of Antichrist? What have various ones claimed? Here is a link to a related sermon What is the ‘Mark of Antichrist’?

Mark of the Beast What is the mark of the Beast? Who is the Beast? What have various ones claimed the mark is? What is the ‘Mark of the Beast’?

26 items to prophetically watch in 2026 Much is happening. Dr. Thiel points to 26 items to watch (cf. Mark 13:37) in this article. Here is a link to a related sermon: 26 Items to Watch in 2026.

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is are links to related videos: European history and the Bible, Europe In Prophecy, The End of European Babylon, and Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? Here is a link to a related sermon in the Spanish language: El Fin de la Babilonia Europea.

Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.