Ghana Imposes Biometric Verification on ID Cards to Thwart Fraud

All businesses and other institutions in Ghana must now use a biometric app scanner to verify National Id cards under new rules aimed at strengthening security and curbing fraud.

Until now many have merely visually checked or copied the card for their records, a loophole that enables imposters to assume another’s identity. The Ghana Card, a plastic biometric national ID that includes 10 fingerprints, iris scans, a photograph and a signature, is central to banking, SIM registration, passports and driver’s licences.

The new regulation requires that any card check be performed by a mobile phone app that authenticates the biometric data after scanning the card. According to Wisdom Yayra Koku Deku, the National Identification Authority chief, "It is now an offence to photocopy or visually inspect a Ghana Card for the purpose of transaction. Biometric verification is now mandatory."

Organisations that continue to rely on photocopies or visual checks face prosecution, with fines up to 24,000 Ghanaian cedis (about $2,100 or £1,550). Individuals risk fines up to 6,000 cedis (about $525 or £390). The NIA urged any organisation still off‑grid to begin the integration process immediately, and the government will brief the public on implementation in the coming days.

Additional reporting by Thomas Naadi in Accra