The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cautioned banks against making photocopies of the Ghana cards of customers, especially in bank transactions.
The Central Bank has emphasized that identification authentication should be done by biometric verification. According to the Bank of Ghana, photocopying Ghana Cards of customers, for identity authentication is not an acceptable practice.
According to the Ashitei Trebi-Ollennu, Deputy Head of Office under the Financial Integrity Office of the Bank of Ghana, there has been no directive from BoG for banks to make photocopies of the Ghana Cards of their customers.
“We have never said that banks should photocopy Ghana Cards. Photocopy leaves room for fraud and compromises the integrity of transactions,” he said. He however, mentioned that banks should cultivate using biometric verification systems which has is linked to the National Identification database, for the identity authentication of customers.
Ashitei made these statements during an event organised by the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Association of Banks, the National Identification Authority and representatives from 25 universal banks in Ghana, to discuss the role identity verification plays in financial transactions.
The theme for the event was “Protect Every Transaction with Biometric Verification”. The Executive Director of IMS II Ltd, James Cantamantu-Koomson, expressing his thoughts on the need for the change in identification verification stated emphatically, “The way we do things is changing. Identity is at the center and the engine of our financial system. The database that the National Identification Authority has collected is one of the most powerful assets we have as a country.”
Speaking on behalf of the National Identification Authority, the Head of the Legal Directorate, Teresa Eson-Benjamin, emphasized that Ghanaian law has established that the Ghana Card be used as the sole form of identification of customers for financial transactions.
Some of the key figures who were present at the event include, Mr. John Awuah, CEO of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), Ms. Naa Welbeck, the Head of Supervision Unit nder the Financial Integrity Office of the Bank of Ghana, and Mr. Ashitei Trebi-Ollennu, the Deputy Head of the Office under the Financial Integrity Office of Bank of Ghana.
The aim of the event was to bring awareness to the increase in fraudulent activities which are associated with making photocopies of Ghana Cards, and shifting to identity authentication of customers in financial transactions, through biometric verification systems.
Source: Dehotpress
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