Subscribers who have lost access to their mobile money accounts due to the SIM re-registration exercise need not worry, according to the Communication and Digitisation Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful.
She said the Bank of Ghana (BOG) is working with the telcos to ensure that subscribers can reclaim their funds from their blocked SIM cards.
She gave this update in Parliament on Thursday, June 8, as she addressed the concerns of subscribers who have been affected by the exercise.
She said that although subscribers with deactivated SIMs will not be able to use them for mobile money transactions, they can still get their money back by presenting a valid ID and following the required processes.
“The National Identification Authority (NIA) continues to help people acquire their Ghana Cards. We are also aware of the challenges faced by subscribers in accessing their funds on their mobile money wallets.
“These subscribers will not be able to do any mobile money-related activities, but we are collaborating with the BOG to ensure that these subscribers can retrieve funds upon showing a valid ID and going through the necessary processes.”
The SIM re-registration campaign began on October 1, 2021, and was supposed to end on March 31, 2022.
The only document that can be used for the exercise is the Ghana Card, which is issued by the NIA.
However, due to some difficulties in getting the Ghana Card, the NCA extended the deadline for registration several times until May 31, 2023, which was announced as the final deadline.
About 7.4 million mobile money accounts, holding an amount of GH¢200 million, have not been registered and therefore deactivated.
More than 8 million subscribers, including the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, had their SIM cards deactivated after the May 31 deadline for the exercise
