JEFFREYS BAY – Residents of Jeffreys Bay will soon be able to access key Home Affairs services closer to home, with the Capitec branch at Fountains Mall set to offer Smart ID services as part of a new digital partnership between the Department of Home Affairs and South Africa’s banking sector.
In a Facebook post, Kouga Executive Mayor Hattingh Bornman said that the new digital partnership will allow residents to apply for or replace their Smart ID cards quickly and conveniently at their local bank branch.
“This initiative brings government services closer to our communities and will help reduce the long queues many people experience at Home Affairs offices,” said Bornman.
“Importantly, this is just the beginning. More bank branches across the country will be added as the programme expands, further improving access to these essential services.”
Bornman further thanked Minister Dr Leon Schreiber and the Department of Home Affairs for driving this important reform and ensuring that communities like theirs benefit from modern, accessible public services.
In a press release by the South African Government, it stated that instead of being required to travel great distances and stand in long queues to access one of the only 349 Home Affairs offices around the country, the new model offers a modern alternative.
The new system provides a fully digital experience where it takes just minutes for an applicant to complete a secure Smart ID application using cutting-edge technology, integrated with their local bank branch right in the community where they live.
“This initiative represents a major step change in the Department’s ongoing reform programme, Home Affairs @ home, which embraces digital transformation to remake how South Africans access identity and civic services,” the statement said.
“It signals our commitment to this new era in which Home Affairs services move closer to the people, through digital and automated channels that eliminate the scope for manipulation, while delivering unparalleled efficiency.”
By modernising and extending the existing technological integration between Home Affairs and the banking sector, known as the Online Verification Service, the Department is decentralising and dramatically expanding the number of secure and dignified service points available to citizens across the country.
According to the statement, for the first time under this new model, South Africans can now visit one of nine branches of participating banks to apply for Smart IDs, beginning with branches operated by Capitec Bank and Standard Bank, which are now live.
The number of live branches will grow to 17 by the end of the week.
First National Bank is currently in the final phase of testing, and other banks that joined the Digital Partnership last year are at varying stages of development.
The launch, which took place on 9 March, represents a significant evolution of the long-standing collaboration between Home Affairs and South Africa’s banking sector.
Under the previous model, banks hosted miniature Home Affairs offices inside their branches, where clients were required to complete applications on the eHomeAffairs platform, make bookings online, and visit the branch primarily for biometric capture.
In contrast, the new model is fully digitalised.
“Participating banks connect directly to Home Affairs systems through a secure API-based Digital Gateway, allowing applications to be completed within a matter of minutes through the bank’s own service environment, without the need to fill in a single piece of paper,” the statement said.
Inside the 17 branches launching this week, clients can complete a Smart ID application in just five to ten minutes, without having to make a booking ahead of their visit.
According to the statement, this same service will be extended to every corner of South Africa over the coming year, as more bank branches are enrolled.
The rollout will take place in phases to ensure system stability and operational readiness.
“Approximately 16 million South Africans still rely on the green ID book, which is widely recognised as one of the most defrauded documents on the African continent. Accelerating the transition to the Smart ID is therefore critical to strengthening the country’s identity system and protecting citizens from identity fraud,” the statement said.
As the system stabilises, throughout 2026, the Department will expand the range of services available through the Digital Partnership not only to hundreds more bank branches, but the Department will also enable first-time Smart ID applications, passport services, courier delivery, and applications through banking apps.
To ensure a responsible rollout, the Department and its banking partners will start small, test thoroughly, and stabilise the system before rapidly expanding the rollout across the country throughout this calendar year.
According to the statement, this expansion forms part of the Department’s commitment under the Medium-Term Development Plan to scale the new Digital Partnership Model to 1,000 participating bank branches across South Africa by 2029, dramatically increasing access to services and ensuring the end of long queues at Home Affairs offices.
Schreiber said, “This signifies by far the biggest milestone to date on our reform drive to deliver Home Affairs @ home. By embracing digital transformation, we are redefining what public service delivery looks like in the modern age.”
“The fact that we have already reached this milestone after just 20 months in office, means that we are on track to deliver on our goal to invert the principle of how government services work. Instead of forcing people to go to Home Affairs to endure long queues and manual processes, we are using technological security and efficiency to bring Home Affairs to the people, delivering access, inclusion and dignity for all.”
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