{"id":642273,"date":"2026-04-22T07:59:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=642273"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:00:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T06:00:45","slug":"fnb-explains-signature-issue-on-new-smart-ids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/banking\/642273-fnb-explains-signature-issue-on-new-smart-ids.html","title":{"rendered":"FNB explains signature issue on new smart IDs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FNB said its use of generic electronic signatures on its first smart ID cards issued under Home Affairs’ new digital partnership programme will not create security or identity verification problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband recently tested the digital partnership programme at FNB Woodmead, one of the first four branches where the bank has rolled out support for walk-in smart ID card applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most of the process was seamless, the friendly staff member who assisted us advised that they would not be able to capture our signature to print on the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart ID cards feature a handwritten signature under the profile photo. This is captured electronically by having the applicant sign on a signature capture pad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The staff member explained that there was an issue with the system for capturing handwritten signatures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I was given a digitally-generated signature with my initials and surname in an italic font, which will appear on my card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This raised some concerns, including that generated signatures would be easy to forge and whether banks or mobile operators would accept the ID card holder’s regular handwritten signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FNB staff member said Home Affairs had approved the measure in the interim, and that applicants who used the service from Monday, 13 April 2026, would be able to add their handwritten signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MyBroadband asked the department about this. It confirmed that the participating banks were given the freedom to design solutions that captured digital signatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only requirement was that this be done in a legally acceptable manner, specifically in a paperless, electronic format, such as DocuSign or Adobe Sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The cursive digital signature method described in your query, which is legally compliant, was initially implemented by FNB,” Home Affairs said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They have subsequently chosen to replace it with the finger-based signature option in preparation for the rollout of passport services through our digital partnership model.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Affairs did not answer questions about whether holders of smart ID cards with generic signatures were potentially at greater risk of identity theft or identity verification issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FNB waves off risks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Tablet used for processing smart ID card applications at FNB Woodmead. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

FNB Points of Presence CEO Zibu Nqala further emphasised that the department had approved the use of the digital signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the generic signature would not affect the authenticity, legal status, or integrity of the smart ID card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The primary integrity of the Smart ID is derived from its biometric, cryptographic, and system controls rather than the visual format of the signature displayed on the card,” Nqala said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nqala acknowledged that FNB had received feedback from some customers who used the service, indicating they wanted their handwritten signature to remain on the card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nqala believed this preference was due to resonance and a desire for personalisation, rather than risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A change was implemented in our most recent system release to display the client’s actual signature rather than a system-generated variant,” Nqala said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nqala emphasised that smart ID cards issued before the change remained fully valid and were not inferior or at risk of future invalidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is no requirement for clients to re-issue their smart IDs due to the signature format, as identity verification is not dependent on the visual signature alone,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart ID cards boast a range of other features that make them superior to green ID books from a security perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to having an embedded chip that stores the holder’s information in an encrypted format, the cards themselves are physically more difficult to alter without the forgery being evident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FNB has answered questions about why it printed generic digital signatures on the smart ID cards of early users of its walk-in application service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":640340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10106,18668],"tags":[6535,1313,1703,104473,17442,56066],"class_list":["post-642273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","category-government","tag-department-of-home-affairs","tag-fnb","tag-home-affairs","tag-home-affairs-digital-partnership","tag-smart-id-cards","tag-south-african-banks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642273"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":642608,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642273\/revisions\/642608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}