Most popular bank branches to get a smart ID and passport
Major South African banks offer Department of Home Affairs (DHA) supported passport and smart ID services at their branches and offices, with some sites processing between 5,400 and 6,800 applications monthly.
MyBroadband asked Absa, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank about their most popular bank branches for these services. We excluded Discovery Bank and Investec as they only offer these services at one site each.
Standard Bank said its most popular Home Affairs-enabled site is its office at 5 Simmonds Street in Johannesburg, purely based on the number of applications the office processes monthly.
For reference, Standard Bank offers passport and smart ID services at nine of its locations nationwide, including the office at 5 Simmonds Street.
Of its nine sites, four are located in Gauteng, two in the Western Cape, and one each in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and the Northern Cape.
Regarding application volumes, Standard Bank said the DHA only started sharing accurate data in February 2024, and it hasn’t observed any notable trends regarding application volumes.
Monthly application numbers remain relatively consistent, with Standard Bank processing 5,856 applications in February, 5,636 in March, 6,525 in April, 6,467 in May, 5,399 in June, 6,790 in July, and 5,817 in August.
While Absa didn’t specifically say which of its branches are most popular for smart ID and passport services, it said its branches are strategically allocated across various regions of the country.
It added that this has resulted in increased visibility and consistent year-on-year growth in customers’ uptake of these services.
FNB’s head of external communications and PR, Sizwekazi Mdingi, told MyBroadband that the bank’s most popular DHA-supported sites are mostly in Gauteng. Its Greenpoint branch in Cape Town and Cornubia branch in KwaZulu-Natal are also popular.
“The only branch that is not seeing high volumes of bookings is FNB Burgersfort in Limpopo,” added Mdingi.
She noted that FNB has observed more customers enquiring about its DHA services, indicating that there is higher demand than previously.
Nedbank told MyBroadband that its DHA-supported bank branches are all well-regarded in their respective communities, and that it focused on offering DHA services at branches in unique locations.
“We have a branch situated in a residential area, which is highly valued by local community stakeholders,” it said.
“Conversely, we have a bank branch in an office park, making it easier for office-based individuals to apply for DHA documents without the need to take prolonged time off work to apply for a smart ID card or passport.”
It added that it sees a steady influx of applications, with most branches handling 60 appointments daily, and some processing more than 1,200 applications per month.
Some of South Africa’s major banks are ready to roll out smart ID and passport services to more branches and offices nationwide.
Absa, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank recently told MyBroadband they are eager to expand these services to more branches.
However, they are waiting for a decision from the DHA regarding the public-private partnership (PPP) agreement being negotiated through the Banking Association South Africa.
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.”
The move would increase the number of DHA-supported Absa branches to 18. Six of its branches currently offer smart ID and passport applications.
Nedbank said it is waiting to finalise partnership agreements with the DHA, with which it is engaging through the Banking Association of South Africa.
“Once the partnership agreements are finalised, we would be able to take the next steps in this exciting journey,” it said.
FNB’s head of external communications and PR, Sizwekazi Mdingi, told MyBroadband that the project is still technically in its pilot phase. The DHA extended the initial pilot deadline from 31 March to 31 September 2024.
“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,” Mdingi said.
Standard Bank, which currently boasts the highest number of DHA-supported bank branches, said the project’s expansion is at the discretion of Home Affairs.
The table below lists all the Home Affairs-enabled bank branches in South Africa by province.
| Province | Branch | Address |
| Gauteng (17) | ||
| Absa Centurion Lifestyle Centre | C/o Lenchen and Old Johannesburg Rd, Centurion Lifestyle Centre, Centurion | |
| Absa Key West Krugersdorp | Shop 80, Key West Shopping Centre, c/o Paardekraal Drive and Viljoen Street, Krugersdorp | |
| Absa Sandton City | C/o Rivonia Road and 5th Street, Sandton | |
| Absa Towers | C/o Commissioner and Troye Streets, Johannesburg | |
| Discovery Bank Head Office | 1 Discovery Place, c/o Rivonia Road and Katherine Street, Sandton | |
| FNB Centurion Lifestyle Centre | C/o Lenchen and Old Johannesburg Rd, Centurion Lifestyle Centre, Centurion | |
| FNB Glen Shopping Centre | Shop U2, The Glen Shopping Centre, Glenvista | |
| FNB Lynnwood | Shop L04 Upper-level Cnr Simon Vermooten & Lynnwood Rd Equestria Pretoria | |
| FNB Merchant Place | 4 Merchant Place c/o Rivonia and Freedman Dr Sandton | |
| Investec Bank Sandown | 100 Grayston Dr, Sandown, Sandton | |
| Nedbank Arcadia | Shop 25, Nedbank Plaza, Beatrix Street, Arcadia | |
| Nedbank Constantia Kloof | 16 Constantia Boulevard Constantia Kloof Roodepoort | |
| Nedbank Rivonia | 135 Rivonia Road, Sandown, Sandton | |
| Standard Bank Centurion Lifestyle Centre | C/o Lenchen and Old Johannesburg Rd, Centurion Lifestyle Centre, Centurion | |
| Standard Bank Jubilee Mall | Shop no. 47 Jubilee Mall corner Jubliee and Harry Gwala Road Temba Hammanskraal | |
| Standard Bank Killarney Mall | Killarney Mall, Riviera Rd, Killarney, Johannesburg | |
| Standard Bank Simmonds Street | 5 Simmonds St, Selby, Johannesburg | |
| Western Cape (5) | Absa Stellenbosch | Oude Bloemhof Building, c/o Plein And Ryneveld Streets, Stellenbosch |
| FNB Greenpoint | Shop 1 & 2, ERF 176300, Media Quarter, Somerset Road, Greenpoint | |
| Nedbank St George’s Mall | Shop 3 The Box, St Georges Mall c/o Riebeeck Street | |
| Standard Bank Canal Walk | Shop 599, Upper Level, Canal Walk Shopping Center, Century Blvd, Century City | |
| Nedbank St George’s Mall | Standard Bank Mitchell’s Plain Promenade | |
| KwaZulu-Natal (3) | ||
| FNB Cornubia | Shop U56, Cornubia Boulevard, Cnr N2 Highway & M41, Durban | |
| Nedbank Durban North | 57 Adelaide Tambo Dr, Durban North, 4051 | |
| Standard Bank Kingsmead | 1 Kingsmead Way, Durban | |
| Eastern Cape (2) | Absa Port Elizabeth | 682 c/o Bagshaw & Govan Mbeki Avenue, Gqeberha |
| Standard Bank Newton Park | 1 Pickering St, Newton Park, Gqeberha | |
| Mpumalanga (1) | Nedbank Nelspruit | Shop 65, The Crossing Shopping Centre, c/o Samora Machel and Madiba Drive, Nelspruit |
| Limpopo (1) | FNB Burgersfort | Shop 55, Twin City Complex, Dirk Winterbach Street, Burgersfort |
| Northern Cape (1) | Standard Bank Kathu Mall | Shop 62, Village Walk Shopping Centre Kathu, Hendrik Van Eck Street, Postmasburg |
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