The National Identification Authority (NIA) of Ghana has warned banks in the country against relying on photocopies of Ghana cards in verifying the identities of individuals who visit banks to do financial transactions.
According to NIA, relying on just photocopies of Ghana cards to verify individuals was unsafe and poses fraud risk.
Executive Secretary of NIA, Wisdom Kwaku Deku, issued the caution at a press conference in Accra to commemorate the 2025 edition of Identity Day.
Addressing the media at the NIA headquarters, he said
photocopies of ID cards cannot guarantee that the person presenting them is the rightful owner or was physically present at the point of transaction.
According to him, only biometric verification, through fingerprints or facial recognition, can reliably confirm an individual’s true identity.
He indicated that “At any point in time, if anybody presents his or her identity, which is the Ghana card, for transaction, that person needs to be authenticated or verified from the NIA. That is why we’re insisting that at no point should anybody do photocopy because the moment you do photocopy of the cards, you’ve not established the person’s identity”
Source:Africa Publicity