Home Affairs partners with Capitec, FNB to expand passport and Smart ID services

THE Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber on Tuesday announced Capitec Bank and First National Bank (FNB) as the first banks that have elected to sign up to the Department’s new digital partnership model that will expand access to Smart ID and Passport services.

- PHILIPPA LARKIN

This is from the existing 30 to hundreds more bank branches in both urban and rural areas across South Africa, as well as to digital banking applications.

Schreiber said a third bank would be announced soon that joined the partnership.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) said it marks the beginning of the end for long travelling distances to reach Home Affairs services, for long queues, as well as for the Green ID book with its unacceptable vulnerability to fraud and identity theft, and the next step in the new digital-first era of public service delivery that the Government of National Unity is building.

Schreiber said it would free up the department for other work.

Cabinet had set DHA the target of rolling out this service to 1 000 bank branches by 2029.

Starting October 2025, Capitec in partnership with DHA enables millions of clients to apply for Smart IDs and passports at selected Capitec branches.

Capitec said it was taking a phased approach to this rollout and would start by rolling out the service at 10 branches and then expand to 100 branches by early 2026.