GhanaCredit Reporting Act, 2007, licensed credit bureaus and credit information
Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726), ss. 2, 12, 21-22, 24-27, 30-32, 34-38, 44 and 62
In force.
A data brokers rule binding private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Bank of Ghana
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
- Obligation class
- Licensing, Consent, Data subject rights, Retention, Governance
- Audit expectation
- on_request
- Who audits it
- Regulator
What it requires
- Do not establish, operate or conduct business as a credit bureau unless the Bank of Ghana has licensed you, and engage only in the activities the Act lists.
- If you are a financial institution that is a data provider, report a borrower's credit information to a licensed credit bureau only with the borrower's prior written consent, except for the cases section 25 lists, and do not induce a customer to consent.
- If you are a data provider, confirm to the credit bureau that you hold the consent of the credit information subject, and keep a record of that consent for not less than ten years.
- If you are a credit bureau, give a credit report only to a recipient registered with you that has produced confirmation of the subject's written consent, and keep a record of the requests and of the credit reports provided.
- If you are a credit bureau, keep information in your database for a maximum of six years from the occurrence of the basis for keeping it on record, and update the database on an ongoing basis.
- If you are a credit bureau, adopt security and control measures to avoid mismanagement of information, and observe the principles of confidentiality, accuracy and transparency of information, and privacy and secrecy of communication.
- If you are a credit bureau, let a person inspect the file you hold on them without charge once within twelve months, investigate a challenge to its accuracy without charge, and give the person credible evidence or remove the information if you find none.
- If you are a credit bureau, submit to the technical audits and inspections the Bank of Ghana requires.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
A person who intentionally discloses confidential information, or fails to report information to a credit bureau, in contravention of sections 24, 25 and 26 commits an offence under section 27 and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one thousand penalty units and a term of imprisonment of not less than five years, or to both.
What it makes you log
Who may demand the log
Regulator
Logging duty
A credit bureau keeps a record of requests for credit reports and of the credit reports provided, and a data provider keeps its records of consent for not less than ten years; the Act names no log fields.
- Kind
- Explicit
- As of
- Provision
- Act 726, s. 32(2)
- Trigger
- personal_data_processing
What this law does
The Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726) bars a person from establishing, operating or conducting business as a credit bureau without a licence from the Bank of Ghana. A credit bureau may gather and maintain data for the formation of credit histories, process credit related data, and deliver credit reports based partly or fully on information not in the public domain.
A financial institution acting as a data provider must not report a borrower's credit information to a licensed credit bureau unless it has the borrower's prior written consent, except for the cases section 25 lists. A person may obtain credit information from a credit bureau only if it is registered with the bureau and has produced confirmation that it holds the written consent of the credit information subject.
A credit bureau may keep information in its database for a maximum of six years from the occurrence of the basis for keeping it on record. A person may inspect the file a credit bureau holds on them without charge once within a period of twelve months. Where a person challenges the accuracy of information, the credit bureau or data provider must give the person a copy of credible evidence supporting it or, if the bureau finds none, remove the information from its files.
The Bank of Ghana may impose pecuniary penalties prescribed by regulations, and may suspend or revoke a credit bureau licence, on a person who contravenes the Act. Operating a credit bureau without a licence is an offence punishable on summary conviction. The Act applies in addition to other legislation on confidentiality, privacy and data protection. The Act was notified in the Gazette on . The Act was assented to on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app provides financial services or processes personal data.
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