The Ghana Association of Bankers says banks cannot be blamed for not accepting the new Voter Identification card as a form of identification for banking transactions.

It’s been over 10 months since the Electoral Commission introduced the new Voters ID card.

However, the banks do not recognize the ID card used for voting during the last Presidential and Parliamentary elections, for transaction.

Speaking to Joy Business, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Bankers, John Awuah, said the banks cannot be faulted for not accepting the Voters ID card, as they cannot compromise security.

“Banks have not taken a decision not to accept the new voters’ ID as identification for banking transactions. What has happened is that since the new cards were introduced, the platform for authenticating them has not been updated.”

“The banks have no mechanism for validating the information on your voters’ ID card directly. The Electoral Commission has a contract with a third-party provider [G Vive] which provides access to the EC’s database for banks to validate the cards when they are presented in support of banking transactions”, Mr. Awuah explained.

“So as soon as the discussion between the Electoral Commission and the third party provider is concluded and the database is updated with details of the new ID cards, banks will have no problem at all in accepting the new ID cards”, he assured.

ID cards that the banks presently accept are National Identification Card, SSNIT, Drivers License and Passport.