Post Office quietly kills online licence disc renewals

The South African Post Office’s (SAPO) online licence disc renewal service is no longer operational, and the company has told MyBroadband that it only launched as a proof of concept for an online system.

This is despite it saying the online service was its first step in turning the “SAPO in my Pocket” strategy into reality.

After noticing that the sapomvl.co.za website was no longer accessible and returned an HTTP Error 404: Not Found message, MyBroadband asked the Post Office if it had shut down the service.

It confirmed that the system is no longer operational. However, it said it was in discussions about potentially reactivating it in specific provinces.

“The SA Post Office previously conducted a proof of concept for an online system; however, it was not fully implemented and was ultimately discontinued,” it told MyBroadband.

“The SA Post Office is one of the few entities officially gazetted by the Department of Transport to serve as an issuing authority for conducting physical MVL transactions.”

Its claim that the system was a proof of concept is curious, as the Post Office never mentioned this when it launched the service.

SAPO launched the online service for licence disc renewals in late January 2022, saying the full renewal process, including payment, could be done online.

Customers could opt to collect their renewed licence disc from a counter in a Post Office branch or pay a R75 delivery fee to have the document delivered to their door.

“Payment is done safely and securely through Masterpass, which the user can download from the Google Play Store for Android devices and the Apple App Store for Apple devices,” it said in a statement.

“No commission is charged on the renewal transaction.”

At launch, the SapoMVL service was available to motorists in all South African provinces, excluding the Western Cape. The Post Office said it was working to expand the service to the Western Cape.

“The online application for the renewal of motor vehicle licences is the first step to turn the ‘SAPO in my Pocket’ strategy into reality and will enable the customer to complete the entire process in the comfort of their own homes or offices,” it said.

It added that it had taken all necessary steps to secure customer data.

Early testing a mixed bag

MyBroadband tested the SapoMVL online service twice in the months following its launch. The first test came just days after the launch, and despite some challenges, we managed to make it work.

Registration was fairly straightforward. Customers could sign up using their email or mobile number via WhatsApp. After creating a password, the system sent an OTP via their chosen channel to verify the registration.

Once registered, users could select the “Create Quote” tab, which provides a page with some of the motorist’s and vehicle’s details pre-populated.

Customers had the option to add a vehicle at the bottom of the page. To do so, they needed to provide the car’s licence number, register number, make, model, mileage, location, tare weight, and licence expiry date.

Users must then digitally sign using their mouse or touchscreen to confirm the details.

Thereafter, users can enter their address information for delivery if that is the option they prefer.

The system then attempted to automatically detect the nearest Post Office branch that processes motor vehicle licence applications.

We experienced a slight niggle here as that system was temporarily unavailable and made it impossible to proceed with payment.

Once resolved, we paid, and the application process was completed. Then began a long wait.

We completed the order on Monday, 31 January 2022. The renewed licence disc was finally delivered on Thursday, 10 February 2022; however, to the incorrect address.

We renewed another motor vehicle licence using the system in August 2022 and had a far better experience.

The application was submitted on Tuesday, 30 August 2022, and the renewed document was delivered on Friday of that same week.