Home Affairs wants 1 000 bank branches processing IDs, passports by 2029

The Home Affairs Department is on a drive to scale up the number of bank branches that can facilitate the application and renewal of Smart ID cards and passport applications.

There are currently 30 bank branches where citizens can apply for Smart ID cards and passports.

The aim is to increase this number to a thousand bank branches by 2029.

The Home Affairs Department this week announced that it has partnered with five major banks, Capitec, FNB, Absa, Discovery Bank and Standard Bank.

Clients of these banks will soon be able to apply for or renew Smart ID cards and passports digitally via the banks’ apps.

Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber says the partnership will not cost the department money.

“What we are saying now is we are using technology to replace the issue of duplication. Standard Bank and all the others already have the things I mentioned in terms of the IT terminals, the cameras, the fingerprint scanners, and they are already integrated with Home Affairs because of the online verification that I mentioned. So, the irony is when you open a bank account you are actually transacting with Home Affairs already, and all we are doing now is piggybacking the Smart ID card and live capture system on the existing integration.”