By Tawanda Karombo<\/p>\n
Ghana has moved to integrate telecommunications, banking, and mobile money platforms under the Ghana Card\u2014a biometric means of personal identity\u2014which will now be a prerequisite for all financial transactions starting July 1.<\/p>\n
In a move that mirrors what is going on in other African countries such as Uganda and Zimbabwe pushing for biometric identity documents, including electronic passports, Ghana has gone a step further by officially requiring that mobile phone sim cards, mobile money, and banking accounts be linked and integrated into the Ghana Card. The Ghana Revenue Authority will also replace tax identification numbers to match the Ghana Card pin number starting March 31.<\/p>\n
While the move has not been met with as much backlash in Ghana as similar biometric registration processes in other African countries, Ghanaians are concerned about the unrealistic timeline of having all mobile wallets and banking accounts integrated into the Ghana card by July 1st (pdf), in addition to privacy concerns and what is seen as a power play between various agencies.<\/p>\n