The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed that effective July 1, 2022, all licensed and regulated financial institutions under its auspices to use the Ghana Card as the only identification card accepted for any form of banking or financial transactions.
According to the central bank the move is In furtherance of its objective of ensuring the safety of the financial system.
In a statement signed by Sandra Thompson secretary of BoG, the public should take note of the directive and that 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 are to also comply with the directive.
The Central Bank also added 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.
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 shared with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to facilitate the identification of initiators/beneficiaries for track and trace purposes. This will include but not limited to transactions by:
i. Banks;
ii. Non-bank Financial Institutions; and iii. Mobile Money Operators (MMOs).”
The Public is to also note that no other form of identification will be accepted for financial transactions in Bank of Ghana after the effective date stated above.
