Government

All the bank branches where you can get a Smart ID and passport in South Africa

Staff Writer

 ·17 Jul 2025

The Department of Home Affairs has grand ambitions to roll out Smart ID and passport services to 1,000 bank branches in the next three years, with the rollout of new facilities expected to start in October.

However, until then, the services remain in a perpetual trial state with six participating banks and limited reach across 30 branches.

Delivering his budget vote speech earlier this month, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber laid out his department’s lofty plans to expand Smart ID and passport services.

He said that he aims to make these services available to all qualifying individuals by the end of the year, which will allow DHA offices to cease issuing old Green ID books, paving away for discontiuing them by 2029.

While the department has opened up applications for Smart IDs and passports to naturalised citizens and permanent residents, and has opened up service centres for expats in Australia this week (with more to come), the plan hinges on South Africa’s banks coming on board in a big way.

Smart ID and passport services are currently only available in 30 branches in South Africa as part of a service trial that has been in effect since 2015.

To fulfil his stated plans, Schreiber will need to launch these services at 100 more branches by March 2026 to hit his 100-branch target by the end of FY25/26.

The department hopes to add 40 bank branches between October and December 2025 and 60 branches between January and March 2026, according to its annual performance plan for the year.

The plan projects a further 1,000 branches to come online in 2026 and 2027.

Put another way, this will require Home Affairs to open around 13 new bank branches a month from October to December, and then 20 branches a month between January and March 2026.

To hit the final goal, the DHA will have to open 40 branches a month for two years to reach 1,000 in the medium term.

There has not yet been any indication that these plans are ready to roll out, with an assumed deadline of September 2025 for the deal with the banks to be finalised.

Speaking to MyBroadband, the Banking Association of South Africa has indicated that the rollout plans are in the final stages, awaiting approval by the DHA.

The banks, meanwhile, are still holding out for the green light, with only around 30 additional branches confirmed to be earmarked for services once the project fully launches.

Participating banks currently have around 2,400 branches across South Africa to work with.

The department said that the list of 100 bank branches to get the service will be published with its live capture rollout project plan, once finalised.

Schreiber previously noted that the bank branch expansion is premised on the rollout of a new live capture system model, which the department hopes will accelerate the adoption of Smart IDs in the country.

Until the rollout is finalised and initiated, the table below lists all bank branches in South Africa that currently support the DHA’s smart ID and passport services.