Ghana's biometric national identification card, the Ghana Card, has come in handy, once again, to tackle fraud in the financial sector which negatively impact the sector.

In a new move, the Bank of Ghana and the Financial Intelligence Centre have announced stringent measures, requiring forex bureau operators to demand Ghana Card from customers.

The Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Combating the Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) guidelines for Foreign Exchange Bureau takes effect immediately from its issue in September 2025.

Forex Bureaus have been widely identified as a vulnerable point for money laundering and financial crime, and the use of the robust Ghana Card identity system, which is already the primary identity card for banking transactions, is expected to tighten loose ends.

Among areas the guideline is expected to tackle include the detection, prevention and mitigation of risks associated with money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

The new guidelines also mandates operators to enforce Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedures, using the Ghana Card.

"Foreign Exchange Bureaux shall display prominently and legibly in the customer’s lobby a notice (BG/GOV/SEC/2025/36) to the effect that customers shall always present a valid identification document (Ghana Card)," the guidelines state.

"For transactions involving ten thousand dollars or more, bureaus must "capture the Ghana Card details" and "biometrically verify the identities of customers," the guidelines add.

The new guidelines also mandates operators to be particularly stringent with Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), by taking measures to identify them, and also takes KG steps to report suspicious transactions within 24 hours of identifying such persons.

The Ghana Card has become Ghana's main source of identification and has significantly helped in curbing identity fraud in the financial and telecom sectors.

It has also become the primary source of national identity to access government services such passport, drivers licence, vehicle insurance, registration of businesses, among many others.