Ghanaians are to brace themselves for more fees as the National Identification Authority (NIA) announces a hike in its service charges.

The NIA announced the hike in a flier shared on their official Facebook page on Wednesday, January 22.

The statement listed five crucial services that will see a price increase soon, though no timeline or specific amounts were provided.

The Authority said the price adjustments are necessary to support the sustainability and efficiency of its operations.

The statement noted that, We wish to respectfully inform the general public that there will be an adjustment in the prices of the following services: “First-time Registration, Personal Information Update, Replacement Service, Nationality Update, Non-Citizen Card Registration”.

Last year, the NIA announced that it was set to upgrade the Ghana Card into an electronic wallet, allowing holders to use it not only as a national ID but also for digital financial transactions.

Executive Secretary of the NIA, Yayra Korku Deku shared the news with Joy News’ James Avedzi, where he intimated that the initiative will help the authority generate revenue to support its activities. He is optimistic this will optimise the operations of the authority.

“What it means is that you can put money on your Ghana card and use it to do transactions. That is to pay for anything that you do. And we are hoping that that one will generate a huge sum of money for us,” she stated.

Adding that the e-wallet initiative will be a significant move that will reshape the NIA’s operations while boosting electronic money transfers in Ghana.

He noted that several financial institutions are eager to partner with the NIA to ensure the initiative succeeds

As of May this years, a total number of 648,862 Ghana cards printed by the National Identification Authority (NIA) were yet to be collected by their respective holders.

The NIA made this known on its Facebook platform when it released recent data on the national identification registration exercise as of May 9.

Per the data, a total of 18,713,474 individuals have been enrolled onto the National Identification System.

So far, some 18,197,477 Ghana cards have been printed, whereas 17,548,615 cards have been issued.

The NIA urged individuals who have yet to claim their Ghana Cards to do so.

"Still Haven’t Collected Your Ghana Card? Thousands of cards are ready and waiting! Check. Collect. Be Identified."

"Visit your nearest NIA District Office today, we’re Open and Operational!" the NIA stated.

Last month, the Ghana Revenue Authority responded to claims that it had been disconnected from the National Identification Authority (NIA)’s Identity Verification System (IVS).

The NIA disconnected GRA from its Identity Verification Service (IVS) platform on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 due to the GRA’s failure to settle a GH₵376 million debt.

In a statement released on August 5, 2025, the GRA clarified that the current administration seemed to have inherited a legacy debt due to some services rendered to the GRA by the NIA prior to 2025.

However, “from the GRA’s present assessment, there were no regulatory and governance approvals for the transaction that created the purported debt. GRA’s principles of transparency, compliance and governance protocols do not permit enforcement of transactions that do not meet regulatory requirements, particularly as demanded by the reset vision of the President and the Government,” the statement read.

BoG makes Ghana Card sole identity document for banking, digital transactions nationwide

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a revised Supervisory Guidance Note on the use of the Ghana Card in banking and digital financial transactions across the country. In a 19-page document shared on January 8, the central bank announced the Ghana Card as the primary and, in most cases, sole form of identification for financial transactions nationwide.

The new directives replace the June 2022 guidance, which introduced the Ghana Card as the primary ID for financial transactions. The October/November 2025 revision, however, makes the Ghana Card mandatory and exclusive, requiring biometric verification through the National Identification Authority (NIA) database and removing alternative identification options. The 2025 directive takes immediate effect, fully replacing the 2022 framework.

BoG noted that, “This Guidance Note provides clarity to Bank of Ghana Notice Number BG/GOV/SEC/2025/36, issued 13th November 2025, and aims to ensure compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) requirements. This revised Supervisory Guidance Note on the use of the Ghana Card for Accountable Institutions, October 2025, comes into effect from the date of issue and replaces the Supervisory Guidance Note on the use of the Ghana Card for Accountable Institutions, June 2022.”

Under the new directive, Accountable Institutions (AIs) are required to use only the Ghana Card to identify and verify all customers, including Ghanaian citizens living in Ghana and abroad, permanent residents, and ECOWAS nationals who are residents during onboarding. Foreign directors, shareholders, and non-residents who are signatories to accounts must also be verified using the Ghana Card.

Institutions are required to verify customers biometrically using features embedded in the card and to update records directly from the NIA database. Any discrepancies in customer information must be handled carefully: primary data, such as name, date of birth, and nationality, must be corrected at the NIA, while secondary data, including phone numbers and addresses, may be updated through institutional procedures.