Ghana is set to introduce biometric verification into the SIM registration process before the end of 2026, in a move expected to strengthen subscriber identification and improve the integrity of the country’s telecommunications database.
Mr Samuel Nartey George, Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, said Parliament had passed the Legislative Instrument (LI) on SIM registration, providing the legal framework for the next phase of the national SIM registration exercise.
He said the biometric verification system would form part of broader efforts to strengthen Ghana’s digital identity infrastructure, improve the security of telecommunications services and address gaps identified during previous SIM registration exercises.
Mr George announced this at the Government Accountability Series at Jubilee House in Accra on Monday.
He said the regulatory framework governing telecommunications and digital services must continuously evolve to keep pace with technological developments and emerging security threats.
“The work is far from finished, and I will not pretend otherwise. But the direction is unmistakable, the results are measurable, and the resolve of this Ministry is unshaken,” he said.
Under the new system, subscribers are expected to provide biometric information, such as fingerprints, as an additional layer of identity verification when registering SIM cards.
The move is intended to make it more difficult for individuals to register SIM cards using false or fraudulent identities and improve the traceability of subscribers using mobile communication services.
The new regulations are also expected to establish requirements governing the collection, storage and use of biometric information, as well as the responsibilities of telecommunications operators and subscribers.
The Ministry is expected to work with the National Communications Authority (NCA) and telecommunications companies to implement the new framework before the end of 2026.
The new phase follows challenges encountered during the SIM registration exercise that began on October 1, 2021.
The previous process required subscribers to link their SIM cards to their Ghana Cards before completing biometric capture at the customer service centres or authorised agents of their network operators.
By October 2022, about 28.96 million SIM cards, representing 67.28 percent of total SIM cards issued, had been linked to Ghana Cards.
However, only about 18.93 million SIM cards, representing 44.28 percent, had completed both stages of the registration process.
This left nearly 10 million subscribers who had completed the initial linking stage without completing the biometric component.
The exercise officially ended on May 31, 2023, after several extensions, with millions of SIM cards still having incomplete registration.
MTN Ghana, for instance, blocked approximately 5.4 million unregistered SIM cards at the close of the exercise.
The Ministry and the NCA have previously acknowledged that the earlier exercise did not fully achieve its objectives of reducing SIM-related fraud and strengthening public confidence in telecommunications services.
The biometric verification requirement is therefore expected to provide an additional layer of identity assurance and improve the reliability of subscriber information.
For businesses and financial service providers, stronger SIM identity verification could also have implications for the wider digital economy, particularly services that rely on mobile numbers for customer identification, authentication and transactions.
The move comes as mobile connectivity increasingly underpins digital payments, mobile money, online services and other digital platforms.
In preparation for the new regulatory framework, the NCA held stakeholder consultations on March 13, 2026, to review draft regulations for SIM registration.
The consultations considered registration requirements for Ghanaian residents and foreigners, financial and operational implications, limits on the number of SIM cards linked to an identification document, and registration requirements for minors and diplomats.
With Parliament having passed the LI, the Ministry and the NCA are expected to finalise implementation arrangements with telecommunications operators.
Subscribers are expected to be given a specified period to complete the biometric verification, with the new regulations potentially providing sanctions for non-compliance.
The government says the ultimate objective is to build a more secure and reliable telecommunications ecosystem capable of supporting Ghana’s expanding digital economy.
