More bank branches to get smart ID cards and passports in South Africa

Major banks in South Africa are eager to offer passport and smart ID services at more of their branches, with one saying it has 12 more sites ready for the activation of Department of Home Affairs (DHA) services.

Although the decision to expand these services to more branches is ultimately up to the DHA, Absa, FNB, and Nedbank say they have plans to expand to more branches in the near future.

There are currently 30 bank branches offering Home Affairs services across South Africa through a pilot project launched in 2016, which tested the public-private partnerships (PPP) with the country’s major banks.

Adding more branches could help speed up South Africa’s transition to smart ID cards and ultimately enable Home Affairs phase out green ID booklets.

The department had set a deadline of 31 March 2024 for the pilot project. However, FNB’s head of external communications and PR, Sizwekazi Mdingi, told MyBroadband that the deadline was extended to the end of September.

“We are currently in a pilot phase with the Department of Home Affairs, with the aim to expand the service to further branches in the near future,” said Mdingi.

“The banks have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that has recently been extended to the end of September 2024, at which point we are hoping to be ready to move into the next phase of the partnership.”

“Work is currently underway, within the Banking Association of South Africa structure, to finalise the PPP with Legal, Information Technology, Human Resources and other workstreams,” she added.

FNB currently has seven branches spread across Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape, offering DHA services.

Absa’s managing executive for integrated channels, Tshiwela Mhlantla, said the bank has 12 sites lined up for the activation of DHA services.

“As Absa regards this as an essential service to support the DHA in fulfilling its social responsibility, we have an additional 12 branch sites ready for the activation of DHA services,” said Mhlanta.

“The discussions with the DHA to finalise the PPP agreement to activate these sites are managed at an industry level via The Banking Association South Africa.”

Absa currently offers DHA-supported services at six of its branches across the country.

Nedbank says it is eager to extend Home Affairs services to more of its branches and is committed to supporting further rollouts.

“Nedbank is participating in engagements with the DHA through the Banking Association of South Africa,” it said.

“Once the partnership agreements are finalised, we would be able to take the next steps in this exciting journey.”

Nedbank customers can book to renew their passport or apply for a smart ID at six of the bank’s branches.

Standard Bank has more locations than any other bank offering Home Affairs services, with nine of its branches currently featuring in the pilot project.

However, it says the addition of new branches is at the discretion of Home Affairs.

“Whilst we allow for the service to be offered in our dedicated branches, the service and the department’s digital systems remain entirely independent and controlled by the department,” it told MyBroadband.

This means Standard Bank also has no control over online bookings, turnaround times, collection dates, or cancellation notifications.

MyBroadband also asked Capitec if it has plans to partner with the DHA.

“Our primary focus is to ensure a positive client experience while keeping waiting times within our service level agreement,” said Asha Patel, head of brand and communications at Capitec.

“Currently, we cannot offer additional services beyond our Global One offering. Therefore, we will not support the DHA Smart ID document and passport application process.”

However, she noted that the decision may be reassessed in future.