The Department of Home Affairs today announced another major milestone in our groundbreaking Digital Partnership with the banking sector as Absa went live with digital Smart ID applications, becoming the fourth bank to offer the service through the Department's new Digital Partnership Model.
With Absa joining Capitec, Standard Bank and First National Bank, South Africans can now access Smart ID services through a network of 296 participating bank branches across the country.
As part of today's rollout, 12 Absa branches have been enabled to provide Home Affairs Smart ID services, with a further 60 Absa branches scheduled to go live before the end of 2026. In addition to its branch rollout, Absa will also introduce an innovative mobile service component, Bank on the Move, extending secure Home Affairs services to even more communities. Further details on this innovation will be unveiled during the official rollout event.
More than 385 000 Smart ID applications have already been processed through the Digital Partnership, demonstrating the growing demand for convenient, digitally enabled services that make it easier than ever for South Africans to replace the fraud-prone green barcoded ID book with the far more secure Smart ID Card.
Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber said: "The rapid expansion of our Digital Partnership with the banking sector demonstrates the success of our vision to fundamentally transform Home Affairs service delivery through digital innovation. Processing more than 385 000 Smart ID applications in just four months demonstrates that South Africans are embracing a faster, more secure and more convenient way of accessing Home Affairs services.
Under our Home Affairs @ home reform programme, which includes expanding our new Digital Partnership to 750 participating bank branches by the end of this year, together with innovations such as Bank on the Move, we are bringing secure and dignified access to Smart ID services closer to where people live and work than ever before."
Media Enquiries:
Carli van Wyk – Spokesperson to the Minister, Cell: 079 166 3899
ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS