The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has introduced a mandatory requirement for the Ghana Card as the only valid ID for all financial transactions, effective immediately.
This update in the revised Supervisory Guidance Note overrides prior versions and demands full customer identification and verification. Without a Ghana Card or the equivalent Non-Citizen or Refugee Identity Card individuals cannot conduct any financial activities.
Accountable institutions must now integrate the National Identification Authority (NIA) system to onboard new customers, covering citizens, permanent residents, and ECOWAS nationals. For digital platforms like mobile apps, a required liveness check will bolster fraud prevention in remote transactions.
Account access sees some flexibility: third parties can deposit funds into unupdated accounts, but holders face withdrawal blocks until they submit a Ghana Card.
Banks may pull secondary details like phone numbers and addresses from NIA records for updates. Primary data changes, such as names or birth dates, still need in-person NIA visits.
Limited exemptions apply for non-residents on short stays under 90 days, who can use passports for one-time dealings like ATM withdrawals or remittances (with visa proof). Ghanaians abroad without Ghana Cards can temporarily rely on passports.
If biometric checks fail due to glitches or “No Match” issues, new customers get a 90-day grace period to fix records though accounts stay frozen during this time.
Story by: Mercy Addai Turkson #ahotoronline.com