Coming soon: Renew your South African ID at these banks

Previously, renewing your South African ID meant facing limited options.

First, you had to brave long queues and hope for the best at a Home Affairs branch. Alternatively, you could try one of the banks involved in the government’s old pilot project.

RENEW YOUR SOUTH AFRICAN ID

However, Minister of Home Affairs Dr. Leon Schreiber explained that the old system faced many technical problems. The ‘old model’ required costly duplication of Home Affairs staff and hardware inside bank branches, which often failed badly.

To address this, the new initiative aims to enable South Africans to renew their IDs at 1 000 banks nationwide, bringing services directly to the people. This approach, called the ‘Home Affairs@home’ strategy, plans to significantly expand access to rural areas where bank branches already operate.

NEW BANKS SIGNED-UP

As a result, Capitec and FNB became the first banks to adopt the ‘new digital model,’ kicking off the nationwide expansion of Smart ID and Passport services, according to Daily Investor.

Dr. Schreiber noted that several South African banks, including ABSA, African Bank, Capitec, Discovery Bank, and Standard Bank, have been invited to participate in this new digital phase of the ongoing collaboration. Currently, just 30 bank branches in South Africa offer passport and Smart ID renewals.

DIGITAL LIVE CAPTURE

As mentioned, the goal is to eventually expand this project to 1 000 bank branches. However, this is premised on the rollout of a new digital live capture system model, which will accelerate the process. The minister reiterated the call to all other banks to accept their invitation to work together to provide Smart ID and Passport services.

“It is safe to say that this marks the beginning of the end for Home Affairs queues, and the start of a new digital-first era in public service delivery,” concluded Minister Schreiber.