Green IDs out, Smart IDs in as MORE banks join Home Affairs
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber confirmed that the country's major banks have committed to rolling out Smart ID and passport services to at least 840 additional branches within the next 12 months.
The announcement marks one of the most aggressive expansions of Home Affairs' digital service delivery to date, and signals the beginning of the end for the outdated green book.
Schreiber revealed that Discovery Bank was the newest member of an ambitious public–private partnership aimed at streamlining ID and passport applications.
The rollout began with Capitec and FNB joining earlier this week on 11 August, followed quickly by Standard Bank, Absa, and now Discovery Bank.
Together, the first three alone, FNB, Capitec, and Standard Bank, are expected to account for the bulk of the 840 new service points.
Until now, just 30 bank branches, run by Absa, Discovery, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank, offered Home Affairs services via satellite offices. These were part of a decades-old pilot project that required separate DHA staff and duplicate systems on-site, making it costly and inefficient.
Under the new model, the banks themselves will integrate digital ID and passport services into their operations, cutting duplication and streamlining the customer experience.
With 840 new bank-based service points set to go live over the next year, the green ID book's days are numbered. For millions of South Africans, the next time they need an ID or passport, they may not need to set foot in a Home Affairs office at all.
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