SOUTH AFRICA — The Department of Home Affairs has successfully expanded Smart ID replacement services to over 750 bank branches nationwide, achieving its target more than four months ahead of schedule. Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber announced the milestone, emphasizing the rapid deployment of this digital partnership as a transformative step in modernizing South Africa’s national identification system.
Launched on 9 March 2026 as a cornerstone of the Minister’s Home Affairs @ home reform agenda, the initiative originally set an ambitious goal to scale the service to 750 branches by the end of the 2026/27 financial year. Just eight months later, the department has already exceeded this objective, with 753 bank branches now providing access to Smart IDs in communities historically excluded from this critical service.
To date, more than one million South Africans have benefited from this new digital service channel. At the beginning of the current administration, only 214 Home Affairs offices nationwide were equipped to process Smart ID applications. The integration of 753 participating bank branches over the past 246 days has expanded the department’s Smart ID footprint to 967 locations, representing an access increase of over 350 percent.
The streamlined service eliminates the need for prior bookings, paperwork, or long queues. Citizens can walk into any participating branch of ABSA, Capitec, First National Bank, or Standard Bank, where applications are processed using secure biometric technology in approximately five minutes. The department has also indicated that additional banks and services will be incorporated into the project shortly.
This widespread expansion supports the department’s strategic roadmap to phase out the fraud-prone green ID book. The older document has been identified as a key pull factor for illegal immigration and identity theft. Transitioning citizens to the more secure Smart ID Card strengthens the overall security and integrity of South Africa’s identification framework.
“Eight months ago, we set ourselves what many regarded as an extremely ambitious target of delivering Smart ID services to 750 bank branches by the end of March 2027,” Dr Leon Schreiber stated. “Today, we have not only achieved that target but exceeded it with more than four months to spare.”
Highlighting the historic pace of the rollout, Dr Schreiber noted, “An increase in access of over 350% in just 246 days is the fastest service expansion in the department’s history. We can now say with confidence that the days of standing in a long queue just to apply for a replacement Smart ID are fast coming to an end.”
He further emphasized that the department is proving its capacity to meet and exceed public expectations through innovation. “At a time when people have often complained that government falls short of its promises, Home Affairs is demonstrating that government is not only able to deliver on its commitments, but that it can, through the embrace of innovation and fundamental reform, exceed all expectations,” he said.
Reaffirming the department’s commitment to building world-class digital public infrastructure, Dr Schreiber added that the initiative is successfully including millions of previously excluded citizens in critical services at an unprecedented scale and pace. “Every day, we continue to accelerate our work to entirely redesign and rebuild Home Affairs for the modern age, anchored in our ceaseless quest to deliver dignity for all,” he concluded.
South Africans seeking to apply for a replacement Smart ID can locate their nearest participating bank branch by visiting myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za.
