Ghana starts enforcing fingerprint checks in place of Ghana Card photocopies
From today, banks, hospitals, telecoms firms and other institutions must verify identity biometrically, not by photocopying the card.
Accra — Ghana's National Identification Authority (NIA) begins a nationwide enforcement exercise today, Monday 2 November, against institutions that still photocopy or eyeball Ghana Cards to check who their customers are.
What changes
Under the National Identity Register (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (L.I. 2523), institutions may no longer rely on inspecting, photocopying, scanning or keeping an image of the card. They must confirm identity through the NIA's Identity Verification System Platform or an approved match-on-card device, which checks a person's fingerprints or other biometrics against the national register.
Who it covers
Banks and other financial institutions, telecoms companies, insurers, pension institutions, hospitals and National Health Insurance Scheme providers, government agencies, schools and other regulated businesses.
Why
The NIA says a photocopy can be altered, a scan can be reused, and a card's details can be kept without the owner's consent. A photocopy also cannot show that the person holding the card is its rightful owner. Where real-time biometric checks are available, people will not need to present the physical card at all.
Penalties
Companies convicted under the rules face fines of 500 to 2,000 penalty units, GH¢6,000 to GH¢24,000. The regulations were signed on 27 March and came into force on 9 June. Institutions were given time to buy equipment and train staff before enforcement.
Organisations that have not yet connected to the platform can apply through nia.gov.gh.
Source: GhanaWeb, 2 November 2026.
