Ghana Mandates Biometric App for National ID Card Verification

The BBC reported that all businesses and institutions in Ghana must now use a biometric app scanner to check national identity cards. The rule replaces earlier practices where many organizations visually inspected or photocopied the plastic Ghana Card. All Ghanaian citizens and foreign residents must carry the card, which stores 10 fingerprints, iris scans, a photograph and a signature.

The card has been required over the past decade for banking services, SIM card registration, passports and driver's licences. Future verifications must rely on a mobile phone app that scans the card and confirms the biometric data. It is now an offence to photocopy or visually inspect a Ghana Card for any transaction, said Wisdom Yayra Koku Deku, the National Identification Authority chief.

Organisations that continue using photocopies or visual checks face prosecution and fines of up to 24,000 Ghanaian cedis, about $2,100. Individuals risk fines of up to 6,000 Ghanaian cedis, about $525, the authority stated. The agency urged organisations not yet connected to the digital verification app to begin the process immediately.

Deku said the government would brief the public in the coming days on implementation and compliance measures.