The African Development Fund has approved USD 8 million in funding for the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) to establish a unique customer identification framework for The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The project will commence in July 2023 and aims to enhance financial sector efficiency within the participating countries, leading to increased access to finance and further regional integration efforts.

Over 53 financial service providers across the participating countries will be included in the project, allowing them to verifytheir clients’ identities on an ongoing basis, combat fraud, discourage loan defaulting and strengthen correspondent banking relationships. The new bank identification system will link the banking accounts of individuals across different financial service providers, bolstering trust and confidence and ultimately encouraging access and usage of financial solutions. Dr.

Olorunsola E. Olowofeso, WAMI Director General, noted that the Unique Bank Identification will leverage existing national identification systems and help to strengthen financial integration in the West African Monetary Zone. Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra and other ID verification initiatives The countries of The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone face significant challenges in developing their financial sectors and providing access to formal banking services for their populations.

The World Bank reports that financial inclusion in these countries is low, with only 15. 7% of adults in Sierra Leone having a formal bank account as of 2017. The lack of access to banking services is linked to a lack of reliable identification documents, as well as other barriers such as high transaction costs and physical distance to banking facilities.

Efforts were made to address these challenges through the development of digital identification and banking infrastructure. The Nigerian government has implemented a successful biometric identification system called the Bank Verification Number (BVN), which has significantly reduced fraud and improved the efficiency of electronic banking in the country. The success of the BVN has inspired similar initiatives in other African countries, including the Unique Bank Identification (UBI) project in West Africa.

The UBI project is intended to create a harmonized digital identification system for banking customers across participating countries, allowing financial institutions to more easily verify the identity of their clients and combat fraud. The project will also support the development of a more integrated financial sector in the West African Monetary Zone. .