Quote from Ndubuisi Ekekwe on June 10, 2018, 8:39 AM

This is very fascinating at least for the cost of making passports within regional economies like ECOWAS. Reuters is reporting that Tencent, a big Chinese tech company, is working with the government to develop an e-pass for citizens crossing the Hong Kong-China border.  The e-pass would work through Tencent's WeChat app [like WhatsApp], linking the user's account with their identity documents. Think of Nigeria border with Benin Republic where your WhatsApp account [preferably a local product] could be all you need. It is believed that this technology could be rolled out across China in future. With that, the physical and digital lives of Chinese would be integrated. That means your digital identity is exactly your physical being; no fake accounts online.

Tencent Holdings is working with China’s authorities for its popular WeChat app to replace travel documents on border crossings between Hong Kong and China, the technology giant said on Wednesday.

Tencent demonstrated its proposed “Scan-WeChat-to-cross-border” procedure at the border checkpoint, which could make the mobile app even more powerful and eventually render it unnecessary for Chinese citizens to carry travel documents

With this e-passport, the cost for passport goes, possibly encouraging people to move across borders with ease in West Africa. Of course, governments may not be fans because of the associated revenue losses when physical passports become digital bytes.