Stop photocopying Ghana Cards of customers - BoG warns banks

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has warned banks to desist from photocopying the National Identification Cards (Ghana Card) of their clients for transactions as such a practice would attract sanctions.

According to the central bank, biometric verification remained the standard process for identity authentication.

The Deputy Head of Financial Integrity of the BoG, Ashitei Trebi-Ollennu, said photocopying of Ghana Cards was susceptible to fraud which could ultimately compromise banking transactions.

“We have never said that banks should photocopy Ghana Cards. Photocopying leaves room for fraud and compromises the integrity of transactions,” he said. 

Instead, banks must authenticate identities directly through the biometric verification system linked to the National Identification database, ensuring a secure and reliable financial ecosystem,” he added.

Forum

Mr Trebi-Ollennu reiterated the directive from the BoG at a forum on identity verification in financial transactions.

The event was organised by Identity Management Systems II (IMS II) Ltd in collaboration with the National Identification Authority (NIA) on the theme: “Protect Every Transaction with Biometric Verification.”

It brought together stakeholders in the banking industry, regulators, the NIA and ICT firms, among others, to discuss the critical role of identity verification in securing financial transactions

The discussions highlighted the importance of biometric verification as the most secure form of authentication.

Fundamental shift

The Executive Director of IMS II Ltd, James Cantamantu-Koomson, highlighted the need for financial institutions and other players to embrace robust identity management to secure transactions and also instil confidence in financial systems.

He said with the advent of sophisticated tools by some miscreants to harm the financial system, industry players must accept the fundamental shift in identity management from the traditional manual processes to a multi-modal biometric verification approach that eliminated security vulnerabilities.

The Head of Legal of the NIA, Theresa Eson-Benjamin, said pursuant to its legal framework, the Ghana Card remained the sole means of identification for banking transactions.