Investment Banker, Kingsley Adjenku Hayford, has called on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to collaborate effectively with the National Identification Authority (NIA) to speed up the issuance of Ghana Card.
Speaking on Starr Today Wednesday, Mr. Hayford further urged the Bank of Ghana to add passport to the means of identification for Ghanaians and foreign nationals in their banking transactions.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced that in accordance with its objective to ensuring safety financial system the National Identification Card also known as Ghana Card will be the only identification card for all financial transactions from July 2022.
According to BoG, the public is to note that no other form of identification will be accepted for financial transactions after the effective date.
“In furtherance of its objective of ensuring the safety of the financial system, Bank of Ghana pursuant to Regulation 7 of the National Identity Register, 2012 (L.I. 2111), hereby directs that with effect from 1st July, 2022, the Ghana Card shall be the only identification card that will be to undertake transactions at all Bank of Ghana licensed and regulated financial institutions,” the Secretary to BoG, Sandra Thompson disclosed.
However, the Investment Banker said digitization is good but not when it would affect the larger society “so the BoG must collaborate with the NIA to get everybody on track otherwise it will be worrying. I believe in the automation of the system and digitization and there must be a linkage with migration processes so that nobody will be out it.”
“Let us also look at passport as an alternative, if people are not getting the NIA ready to do banking transaction passport should use. Because anybody who come to Ghana and not a Ghanaian would have to use the passport for the banking transactions,” Mr. Adjenku Hayford explained.
He continued “If the 1st July is enough period for the NIA to complete the total registration of Ghanaians to have the cards or make sure that centers are available at important places and also assure Ghanaians that after they would do a mob-up so that everybody would have the card, then I don’t have a problem. However, a lot of people do not have the card and they want to go for the card. Even some of us who have gone through the process, we didn’t card the where we live.”
“I have a challenge with this deadline but if only the BoG can push NIA to get people the card. Otherwise lot of people will be out of the financial system. It is going to affect the MoMo market. So it’s a challenge and they need to collaborate,” he advised.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Isaac Dzidzoamenu
