Ashitei Trebi-Ollennu, Deputy Head of Office under the Financial Integrity Office of BoG
In a bid to strengthen the security of financial transactions, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a directive prohibiting banks from photocopying Ghana Cards for customer verification.
This move is aimed at preventing identity theft and impersonation, which are prevalent risks associated with outdated verification methods.
The BoG’s stance against photocopying Ghana Cards is not new, as the National Identity Register Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2111), have always emphasized the importance of biometric verification for identity authentication.
However, the recent directive serves as a reminder to banks to adhere to the regulations and adopt more secure verification processes.
According to Ashitei Trebi-Ollennu, Deputy Head of Office under the Financial Integrity Office of BoG, “We have never said that banks should photocopy Ghana Cards. Photocopying leaves room for fraud and compromises the integrity of transactions.”
Instead, banks are required to authenticate identities directly through the biometric verification system linked to the National Identification database.
The benefits of real-time biometric verification are numerous.
It prevents identity theft and impersonation, eliminates reliance on easily forged physical documents, ensures real-time authentication with National Identity Register (NIR) records, and aligns with national and international security standards.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
