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This is not really the point. This is to be used where its necessary to know who the user is, for example when opening a bank account or checking in with an airline

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Yeah, it's sad that it caught on for those things, too. I hope it becomes harder to do those things as a result, not easier, so that the day it goes away comes about sooner.

KYC (know your customer) is a legal requirement in many countries if you are dealing in services that might allow your users to launder money, so I don’t see how it harder for users benefit anyone.

At one point it wasn't a legal requirement, and then it became one, just like air transport.

Financial privacy could be restored, given sufficient will to do so. Making ubiquitous identity-linked financial surveillance easier and more convenient does not advance this goal.

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