8 banks expanding Smart ID and passport services at branches in South Africa
The Department of Home Affairs is collaborating with eight of South Africa’s largest banks to provide Smart ID and passport services nationwide.
For the last 10 years, South Africans have been able to access the department’s services at banks as part of a pilot.
The system is currently limited to 30 branches, primarily located in urban areas. The expansion to new branches has also been slow.
Moreover, the pilot observed Home Affairs staff being seconded to bank branches nationwide, with banks not actually offering the service directly.
In April 2025, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced a plan to expand the service to more branches nationwide, while also adopting a digital-first rollout approach.
The director general of Home Affairs wrote to the CEOs of Absa, African Bank, TymeBank, Capitec, Discovery Bank, FNB, Investec, Nedbank, and Standard Bank, inviting them to join the move.
The department aimed to expand Smart ID and passport services to 100 additional bank branches by the end of the year (which is increasingly seeming unlikely) and reach 1,000 branches by 2028/29.
The new rollout is being made possible through the DHA’s new live capture system and back-end upgrades, which aim to eliminate parallel processes and integrate with the bank’s systems.
If the DHA does not have a suitable ID photo on file, clients will then be able to visit a special Smart ID terminal in bank branches to fix the issue.
All banks, except Investec, have now signed on to the expansion, with each bank adopting a different approach to the service.
Capitec
South Africa’s largest bank by market cap and customer numbers was a notable absentee from the initial pilot.
Despite having the largest branch network in the country, Capitec did not sign on to the original pilot as it detracted from its branch operations.
The bank told BusinessTech that the department’s strong modernisation strategy is why it decided to join the initiative.
The strategy will all the bank to integrate the service into its existing branches and ensure its standards.
The bank’s services will initially only be in-branch, but will be added to the bank’s app in the future, along with home delivery.
It said it will roll out services to branches that the department and other banks currently underserve.
FNB
FNB was one of the first two banks to join the expanded pilot, alongside Capitec.
FNB already offers the service, but is planning on expanding the service to more branches across the country, along with its app.
Since the partnership began in 2015, FNB has issued over 570,000 Smart IDs and passports via its seven participating branches.
This includes 312,000 Smart IDs and 258,000 passports, reflecting the collaboration’s success and scale.
“FNB recognises how critical Smart IDs and passports are to all South Africans, whether for applying for basic services, opening bank accounts, seeking employment, or travelling,” said FNB CEO Harry Kellan.
“With the DHA’s newer technology, reaching millions of South Africans through FNB’s systems and infrastructure will be a reality.
Standard Bank
Standard Bank has already announced some plans for its expanded Smart ID and Passport services, which will start in 2026.
South Africa’s largest bank by assets under management said that it would be launching 20 additional bank branches for Smart ID and Passport services in early 2026.
The bank said that it has procured all the necessary devices and infrastructure needed for the rollout.
The bank has already selected the first two branches for the pilot testing phase, which involves integrating and testing with Home Affairs.
The two pilot branches will then trial the new systems in real-world conditions and will serve as the validating platform for the bank’s readiness to scale.
“With the necessary infrastructure for 20 new branches already in place, Standard Bank is well-positioned to begin the next phase of its rollout in 2026,” it said.
The 20 new branches will be “strategically selected” to ensure geographic diversity and to serve communities where access to Home Affairs’ services are limited.
Absa
Absa was another of the Big Four banks that announced its intention to expand the pilot.
“By collaborating with the Department of Home Affairs, we’re bringing services closer to where people are — in their hands, on their screens, and on their terms,” Absa said.
Discovery Bank
Although Discovery is a digital bank without physical branches in South Africa, it does offer Smart ID and passport services.
Customers can visit the Discovery Head Office in Sandton, Johannesburg, to use the service.
Our team was impressed by the service we received when we visited the Sandton office, particularly due to the prompt turnaround time.
Schreiber confirmed that the bank has agreed to expand the service to other branches nationwide.
African Bank
African Bank was announced as the sixth bank to join the initiative. Like Capitec, African Bank has never offered the service in South Africa.
While details on African Bank’s plans for the service are limited, its operations focus on the mass market alongside Capitec, with a focus on underserved areas.
Nedbank
Schreiber said that Nedbank was the seventh bank to join the revamped initiative.
Nedbank already offers the service at six branches across South Africa, with seven in Gauteng, and one branch in each of Mpumalanga, the Western Cape and KZN.
TymeBank
The final bank to announce that they have joined the expanded pilot was TymeBank, despite having a previous public spat with Schreiber.
TymeBank will offer its services via its kiosks, which are currently available at 1,450 points of presence in Pick n Pay, Boxer, and Foschini Group stores.
The bank, which recently announced a new CEO, Cheslyn Jacobs, stated that it would test the services in Johannesburg before rolling them out to other parts of the country.
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