Digital KYC for MFIs: Ghana Card without the theatre

Customers should not fill a new form every time they take a stove on hire purchase after already opening a susu account. A golden client record—name, Ghana Card, biometrics or photo, address, occupation, next of kin—lets every product sit on top of verified identity.

What to capture at first contact

Store documents in a vault with retention rules. Officers should be able to preview, not download indiscriminately. That distinction matters in a data-protection review.

• Legal name as printed on the Ghana Card, not a nickname.
• Card number, issue and expiry, and a clear image of both sides.
• Live photo of the customer next to the officer for dual evidence.
• Digital address, residence status, and a reachable second phone number.
• Source of funds and occupation for AML monitoring.

Reuse across products

When the same person later applies for a loan, pre-fill identity and highlight what changed. Credit then focuses on capacity and collateral instead of retyping names. Duplicate detection on phone and card number stops the same customer opening a second file in another branch.

Duplicates are an AML event

The same Ghana Card in two branches with two files is not a data-quality nuisance. It is a way to hide exposure. Block on card number and phone, and make the merge a dual-control action. Train officers that 'the system already knows this person' is a feature, not an insult to their notebook.

Photos that survive an audit

A selfie in bad light with the card in shadow will be rejected later. Capture both sides of the card, a live photo, and optionally a photo of the customer beside the officer. Store them in a vault with retention, not in a shared drive named 'KYC 2024 final FINAL'. Officers preview; they do not bulk-download.