{"id":817916,"date":"2025-03-24T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=817916"},"modified":"2025-03-24T15:05:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T13:05:15","slug":"home-affairs-ministers-important-message-to-people-with-green-id-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/817916\/home-affairs-ministers-important-message-to-people-with-green-id-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Affairs Minister’s important message to people with green ID books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said they want to eliminate green ID books in South Africa and make it easy for people to move to more secure smart IDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2025, Schreiber said the Department of Home Affairs wants to stop issuing green barcoded ID books in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the future, they want to issue only Smart ID cards, an internal target they are working towards to ensure they create a more secure system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Schreiber warned that South Africans using green ID books face a significant security risk due to their inherent weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza explained that green ID books were behind most identity theft in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, stolen identities are used to access credit, loans, or apply for higher education, creating significant headaches for the rightful holder of the ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the Smart ID, it is very difficult to duplicate someone\u2019s ID. That is why we are migrating everyone to a Smart ID card and phasing out the green ID books,\u201d Nzuza said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The card\u2019s biometric features ensure that the person presenting the ID is the rightful owner, significantly reducing the risk of identity fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also enables it to be incorporated into digital verification systems and, in some cases, eliminate the need for in-person validation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linking biometric data with SIM cards is also being explored. This can prevent fraudulent SIM card activations and ensure only the rightful owners can use the SIM card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering the security benefits of Smart IDs, it is understandable that the Department of Home Affairs wants to do away with green ID books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schreiber explained that after they stop issuing green ID books, they will consider targets to eliminate them and replace them with Smart ID cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told News24<\/a> that the green ID book is insecure and a risk to South Africa and that they urgently want to get rid of it. However, it is not simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe still have about 18 million people to reach. Our aim was 2.5 million people this year, but we are on track for 3.6 million,\u201d he told the publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that people who still use green ID books have no reason to panic as they will remain valid for this year and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that green ID books remain a valid form of identification. However, users are warned that they pose significant security threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaborating with banks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Home Affairs launched its eHomeAffairs system on 7 April 2016 to facilitate easier access to government services online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

eHomeAffairs enabled South African citizens to apply and get their smart ID card or passport at a bank branch rather than a Home Affairs office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative formed part of the department\u2019s aim to replace about 34 million green-barcoded ID books with the Smart ID Card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was initially available at Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank at 12 branches in Gauteng and one in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investec and Discovery Bank joined the eHomeAffairs project, and the service is now available at 30 branches in many large South African cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to News24<\/a>, Schreiber said they want to hugely expand their collaboration with banks to make it easier for people to get their smart IDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that they want to expand the current network of 30 bank branches to over 1,000 across South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another focus for his department is going digital, including launching a secure digital ID on people\u2019s smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It will be a verifiable credential with a unique key, allowing you to verify and sign things digitally,” he told News24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that having an official in the corner of a bank with a computer, fingerprint scanner, and camera does not make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, he wants to integrate with the bank\u2019s technology, creating the same trust in Home Affairs as with banks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says the department wants to eliminate green ID books in South Africa and make it easy for people to move to more secure smart IDs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":816155,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[6239,20613,20612,6230],"class_list":["post-817916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-department-of-home-affairs","tag-green-id-books","tag-leon-schreiber","tag-smart-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817916"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":817930,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817916\/revisions\/817930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}