Smart ID applications get easier as Home Affairs expands services to Absa

With the Home Affairs Department continuing to create easy access to its services, the department has roped in Absa – where citizens can now apply for their Smart ID cards.

The expansion makes Absa the fourth banking institution to partner with Home Affairs in rolling out Smart ID services. It also saw the launch of South Africa’s first bank-based Home

The latest development forms part of the department’s Home Affairs @ home reform programme, which aims to modernise service delivery and reduce the long queues that have for years characterised Home Affairs offices.

Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber said the reforms were designed to bring government services closer to where people live and work.

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For far too long, accessing Home Affairs meant taking a taxi or a bus, missing a day of work, standing in long queues, and spending hours simply to apply for an identity document.

“Our Home Affairs @ home reform programme is changing that forever by bringing Home Affairs to where people live, work and bank,” he said.

Banks that have signed up on the department’s programme include Capitec.

The department said the partnership has expanded rapidly since it was launched on 9 March this year.

“In just four and a half months, the number of participating bank branches has grown to 327,” the department said.

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Combined with the department’s 214 modernised Home Affairs offices, South Africans can now access Smart ID services at 541 locations nationwide -more than double the 214 service points that existed before the banking partnership was introduced.

According to the department, this represents the fastest expansion of access to Home Affairs services since the advent of democracy.

The rollout is expected to continue gathering momentum, with the department targeting approximately 750 participating bank branches by the end of the year. Together with its own offices, this would increase the number of Smart ID service points to about 1 000 across the country.

The department also plans to extend the Digital Partnership to include applications for adult and children’s passports, first-time Smart ID cards and, ultimately, home delivery of identity documents.

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Schreiber said the reforms were aimed at improving both convenience and security.

Through Home Affairs @ home, we are making it easier than ever before for South Africans to replace the fraud-prone green barcoded ID book with the secure Smart ID Card.

“Together, we are closing the chapter on the fraud-prone green barcoded ID book and opening a new chapter of secure, digitalised identity services that delivers dignity for all,” he said.