Safe money, safe customers

A banking hall should be a place of confidence. Customers enter with savings, business proceeds and personal information, trusting the institution to protect them.

Yet, a casually raised smartphone can capture a face, withdrawal document, cash envelope or vehicle registration. Once shared through WhatsApp or social media, those details may expose a customer beyond the bank’s doors. Ghana’s banking transformation must, therefore, place physical safety and privacy alongside digital convenience.The central concern is straightforward: customers should complete transactions without becoming subjects of unauthorised recording or targets for people monitoring their movements.

Yesterday’s restrictionsConcerns about phones in banking halls are longstanding. A Ghana News Agency press review dated October 3, 1999 reported restrictions arising partly from fears that criminals observed withdrawals and contacted accomplices outside. Practices differed between banks and some restrictions concerned noise rather than security.Today, smartphones support banking applications, authentication and transaction alerts. Banks must accommodate these functions. However, permission to use a phone for banking should not automatically permit photography, livestreaming or filming other customers.There is insufficient evidence to conclude that unauthorised WhatsApp sharing or AI videography dominates Ghanaian banking halls. Nevertheless, the potential consequences justify clear safeguards and closer investigation.

Digital exposure Consider an illustrative situation. A trader withdraws cash for suppliers while another visitor records a video. The footage captures the trader collecting money and entering a vehicle. Immediate sharing could help someone identify the customer, estimate their cash holdings or follow their departure.The person recording may have no criminal intention. However, information can reach unintended recipients. Documents, conversations and images captured in the background can also reveal sensitive financial details.AI tools introduce additional possibilities through manipulated images and impersonation. These risks require assessment, without assuming that every recording produces harm or every phone user presents a threat.

What the numbers tell usThe Bank of Ghana’s fraud report, dated April 23, 2025, recorded 16,733 cases across banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions and payment service providers during 2024, compared with 15,865 in 2023. Aggregate value at risk increased from approximately GH¢88 million to GH¢99 million. These figures cover attempted and successful fraud; they are neither confirmed losses nor evidence that filming caused robberies.Financial exposure grew faster than incident numbers. However, these descriptive statistics cannot establish causation.A credible econometric study would require branch-level records covering security incidents, customer traffic, withdrawal volumes and recording complaints. Comparing branches before and after revised policies, while accounting for location and transaction patterns, could help identify which safeguards work.

Practical protection for every customerGhana’s Data Protection Act, 2012, Act 843, establishes principles including lawful processing, minimality and specified purposes. Consent is one lawful basis, alongside statutory alternatives. Banks should assess the purpose and justification for recording identifiable customers and protect the resulting information.Five measures deserve immediate attention.Clarify recording rules. Display notices permitting necessary banking phone use while restricting unauthorised photography, filming and livestreaming around customers and transactions.Protect confidential transactions. Provide discreet cash collection areas and privacy screens. Staff should avoid announcing withdrawal amounts or discussing account information within other customers’ hearing.Secure the surrounding environment. Maintain lighting, accessible exits and monitored entrances, ATMs and parking spaces. Guards should recognise suspicious observation and respond professionally.Manage CCTV responsibly. Legitimate surveillance should have controlled access, defined retention periods and documented disclosures. Staff should never circulate customer footage casually through personal messaging accounts.Make complaints effective. Customers reporting unwanted recording or suspected pursuit should receive prompt assistance. Banks should preserve relevant evidence and involve police where credible threats arise.

ConclusionCustomer exposure can threaten business working capital, household savings and personal wellbeing. Weak protection also creates reputational risks for investors and undermines public confidence in the government’s financial inclusion ambitions.Customers should conceal transaction details and report suspicious behaviour. Nevertheless, banks must lead through trained personnel, secure premises and consistently enforced rules. Technology should improve the entire banking experience, including arrival and departure. The standard is simple: customers should leave with their money protected, their privacy respected and their physical safety taken seriously. That assurance is essential to lasting trust.