Dr. Ernest Addison – Governor of BoG
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has hinted that effective July 1, 2022, the Ghana Card shall be the only identification card accepted for any form of banking or financial transactions in the country.
According to a statement signed by the secretary of the central bank, Sandra Thompson, all licensed and regulated financial institutions, as well as the public should take note of the directive.
The BoG stated that “The institutions include; Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions; Non-Deposit-Taking Financial Institutions; Payment Service Providers and Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers; Forex Bureaus and Credit Reference Bureaus”.
The statement continues that ‘In line with this Notice, Section 30 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044) and Regulation 12 of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2011 (L.I.1987), all financial institutions shall take steps to update customer records with the Ghana Card.”
The BoG has thus urged and advised the financial institutions and their customers to update their records with the Ghana Card in line with the notice.
“For KYC purposes, the National Identification Authority verification transaction platform will be integrated into the Bank of Ghana’s financial monitoring platform. This is to ensure that all financial transactions performed within the ecosystem are linked to one identity and information, and unique codes for the transactions are shared with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to facilitate the identification of initiators/beneficiaries for track and trace purposes”.
“This will include but not be limited to transactions by Banks; Non-bank Financial Institutions; and Mobile Money Operators (MMOs),” the notice stated.
The central bank also warned that no other form of identification will be accepted for financial transactions in the Bank of Ghana after the effective date stated (July 1, 2022).
So far the Ghana Card is gradually becoming the only accepted form of ID in the country.
– BY Daniel Bampoe