Next Of Kins Of Deceased On Paper Are Not Automatic Account Beneficiaries — Here’s Why

Normally, it is required to provide a name of a next of kin in order to set up a bank account or ang other financial purpose, either a friend or relative for that matter.

But, the Bank of Ghana states that the next if kin is just a nominated individual who serves as a first point of call in case of emergencies or death.

The next of kin concept in banking operations is for the purpose of tracing the whereabouts of an account holder and not to inherit the contents of the account, necessarily.

“This person should be close and know a lot about the account holder and that is why in practice, many people would use some of their close relatives as next of kin”, explained Mr. Augustine Amoako Donkor, Assistant Director, Financial Stability Department of the Bank of Ghana.

This direction was discussed during a two-day media capacity building workshop for 25 selected journalists in the Ashanti Region.