The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a revised Supervisory Guidance Note on the use of the Ghana Card, reinforcing it as the primary—and, in most cases, sole—form of identification for financial transactions across the country.
The directive, which replaces the June 2022 guidance, takes immediate effect and highlights the National Identity Authority (NIA) database’s central role in strengthening Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance in Ghana’s financial sector.
Mandatory Ghana Card for customer onboarding
Under the new guidance, all BoG-licensed and regulated financial institutions are required to use the Ghana Card as the only identification document when onboarding customers. This includes Ghanaian citizens, permanent residents, ECOWAS nationals residing in Ghana, and foreign directors or shareholders who are signatories to accounts.
Institutions must verify customers biometrically using features embedded in the Ghana Card and update records directly from the NIA database. Discrepancies must be handled carefully: primary data such as name, date of birth, and nationality must be corrected at the NIA, while secondary data like phone numbers and addresses may be updated through institutional procedures.
Stricter rules for digital and non-face-to-face banking
The guidance imposes tougher requirements for mobile and internet banking, citing heightened money laundering and terrorist financing risks. Financial institutions are no longer permitted to use a risk-based approach for identification at the onboarding stage and must conduct full biometric verification, including liveness checks, for all digital onboarding processes.
Third-party and non-face-to-face transactions also require mandatory biometric verification, and institutions must retain records of both the verifier and the transaction.
Existing customers and foreign nationals
For existing customers, a risk-based approach is allowed, but institutions must continuously update customer data using NIA records. Customers without a Ghana Card—or approved alternative identification for non-citizens and refugees—are barred from conducting financial transactions.
Foreign non-residents in Ghana for less than 90 days may only perform limited one-off transactions, such as remittances or ATM/POS transactions, using valid international passports alongside additional KYC checks. Diplomats and their dependents remain exempt and may continue using diplomatic passports or cards.
Handling verification failures
The guidance outlines procedures for failed or “no match” biometric verifications, including escalation protocols, alternative verification methods, and offline solutions like MECO devices during system downtimes. Financial institutions must document verification failures, notify the NIA where necessary, and guide customers to correct identity inconsistencies.
Boosting financial integrity
The Bank of Ghana says the revised guidance is aimed at improving the integrity of Ghana’s financial system by ensuring uniform identity verification, reducing fraud, and enhancing compliance with AML/CFT obligations.
With the Ghana Card now firmly positioned at the centre of financial transactions, the directive signals a decisive move towards tighter regulatory oversight and deeper integration of national identity infrastructure into Ghana’s banking and financial services ecosystem.
