Hanno Labuschagne15 October 2023
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There are currently 30 bank branches offering smart ID and passport services to South Africans, and most major banks want to offer many more.
The e-Home Affairs facility was first launched in 2015 with several bank branches.
It has been slow to expand due to delays in finalising a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Department of Home Affairs and participating banks.
The branches currently offering the service are effectively part of a protracted pilot phase, which is why they are still few and far between.
The facility allows bank customers to submit their applications for smart IDs or passports online, filling in all the necessary details and attaching copies of required documents before paying through their bank.
Applicants can then choose an appointment date at their chosen bank branch to capture their biometrics and provide original documents as proof of identification.
The smart ID or passport can then be collected at the same branch once ready.
Breakdown by bank
Currently, six banks support the service — Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Investec, Nedbank, and Standard Bank.
South Africa’s biggest bank by customers — Standard Bank — offers nine branches with the services, the most of any provider.
It did not provide MyBroadband with feedback on whether it wanted to add more branches to the service by the time of publication.
The bank’s most recent addition — its branch in Kathu — is still in a testing phase and only accepts walk-ins.
The second biggest bank — FNB — currently boasts seven branches with the service but has earmarked more sites across all nine provinces for further expansion.
The bank has not been able to add another branch in over two years, with FNB Cornubia being the last that went live with DHA services in June 2021.
“The site allocation needs to go through a process in partnership with the DHA and is not yet finalised, but we have noted our aspiration to expand the service,” said FNB Points of Presence CEO Zibu Nqala.
Nqala said the bank had issued over 450,000 smart IDs and passports since launching the service in July 2015.
“In 6 of our seven branches, appointments are fully booked up to a month in advance,” Nqala stated.
Absa boasted five branches with the services from its initial rollout in 2017. It recently added its sixth branch.
A spokesperson for the bank told MyBroadband the service has been well-received by its customers.
“Absa regards this as a necessary service to support the DHA while playing a meaningful role in society,” the spokesperson said.
They hinted at an aggressive expansion, having provisioned for 20 additional branches to offer the service to customers in all provinces.
“Discussions with the DHA on the possibility of expanding the current offerings to additional sites nationally are ongoing and are managed at an industry level via The Banking Association South Africa,” the Absa spokesperson said.
After adding another branch in Durban North on 6 October 2023, Nedbank now offers five locations with DHA services.
A Nedbank spokesperson said the bank was also awaiting the finalisation of the PPP to pave the way for further branches to be added.
“Our clients are enthusiastic about the offering and are calling for more branches,” they said.
While Discovery Bank currently only offers the services at one location — the Discovery Store at 1 Discovery Place in Sandton — it also wants to expand it to other stores nationwide.
Discovery customers currently have to follow a slightly different approach than other banking customers to book their appointments.
“The automated process on the Home Affairs online page was paused during the Covid-19 lockdown period when the branch was closed – we have been working with DHA to resume this,” the bank told MyBroadband.
Meanwhile, customers can still create a profile and capture their application with supporting documents, but they must email a preferred timeslot between 09:00 and 15:00, Mondays to Fridays, to DB_DHA_appointment@discovery.bank.
The table below shows the addresses and contact information of all the bank branches that offer smart ID and passport application services.
| Home Affairs bank branches | ||
| Bank | Address | Contact number |
| Standard Bank (9) | ||
| Standard Bank Kathu Mall | Shop 62 Village Walk Shopping Centre Kathu, Hendrik Van Eck Street, Postmasburg | 053 723 9610 |
| Standard Bank Centurion | Cnr Lenchen and Old Johannesburg Rd Centurion Lifestyle Centre | 012 671 4042 |
| Standard Bank Killarney Mall | Killarney Mall, Riviera Rd, Killarney, Johannesburg | 011 486 0002 |
| Standard Bank Kingsmead | 1 Kingsmead Way, Durban | 031 308 7900 |
| Standard Bank Jubilee Mall | Shop no. 47 Jubilee Mall corner Jubliee and Harry Gwala Road Temba Hammanskraal | 011 351 7814 |
| Standard Bank Canal Walk | Shop 599, Upper Level, Canal Walk Shopping Center, Century Blvd, Century City | 021 529 8216 |
| Standard Bank Mitchell’s Plain Promenade | Corner AZ Berman Road And Morgenster Road, Mitchell’s Plain | 0860 123 000 |
| Standard Bank Simmonds Street | 5 Simmonds St, Selby, Johannesburg. | 011 631 1624 / 011 639 4205 |
| Standard Bank Newton Park | 1 Pickering St Newton Park Port Elizabeth | 041 404 8319 |
| FNB (7) | ||
| FNB Burgersfort | Shop 55 Twin City Complex Dirk Winterbach Street Burgersfort | 072 457 8619 / 013 216 0098 |
| FNB Centurion Lifestyle Centre | Cnr Lenchen and Old Johannesburg Rd Centurion Lifestyle Centre Centurion | 066 460 0530 / 012 653 2661 |
| FNB Cornubia | Shop U56, Cornubia Boulevard, Cnr N2 Highway & M41, Durban | 031 308 7900 |
| FNB Glen Shopping Centre | Shop U2, The Glen Shopping Centre, Glenvista | 061 495 4441 |
| FNB Greenpoint | Shop 1 & 2, ERF 176300, Media Quarter, Somerset Road, Greenpoint | 087 345 6090 |
| FNB Lynwood | Shop L04 Upper-level Cnr Simon Vermooten & Lynnwood Rd Equestria Pretoria | 066 460 0130 |
| FNB Merchant Place | 4 Merchant Place c/o Rivonia and Freedman Dr Sandton | 066 290 3307 |
| Nedbank (6) | ||
| Nedbank Arcadia | Shop 25, Nedbank Plaza, Beatrix Street, Arcadia | 066 460 0122 |
| Nedbank Constantia Kloof | 16 Constantia Boulevard Constantia Kloof Roodepoort | 011 639 4208 |
| Nedbank Durban North | 57 Adelaide Tambo Drive, Durban North | 080 055 5111 |
| Nedbank Nelspruit (Temporarily closed) | Shop 65 The Crossing Shopping Centre c/o Samora Machel and Madiba Drive Nelspruit | 081 336 5941 |
| Nedbank Rivonia | 135 Rivonia Road, Sandown, Sandton | 066 290 3257 |
| Nedbank St George’s Mall | Shop 3 The Box, St Georges Mall c/o Riebeeck Street | 0800 555 111 |
| Absa (4) | ||
| Absa Centurion Lifestyle Centre | Shop 36 c/o Lenchen and Old Johannesburg Road Centurion Lifestyle Centre Centurion | 066 460 0356 |
| Absa Key West Krugersdorp | Shop 80 Key West Shopping Centre cnr Paardekraal Drive and Viljoen Street Krugersdorp | 079 900 6457 |
| Absa Sandton City Mall | Cnr Rivonia Road and 5th Street Sandton | 066 290 3314 |
| Absa Towers North | Cnr Commissioner &, Troye St, City and Suburban, Johannesburg, 2001 | 011 350 4111 |
| Absa Port Elizabeth | 682 Cnr. Bagshaw & Govan Mbeki Avenue, Port Elizabeth | 041 404 8319 |
| Absa Stellenbosch | Oude Bloemhof Building, Cnr Plein & Ryneveld Streets, 18 Plein St, Stellenbosch Central, Stellenbosch, 7600 | 021 809 2311 |
| Discovery Bank (1) | ||
| Discovery Bank Head Office | 1 Discovery Place, c/o Rivonia Road and Katherine Street, Sandton | 0860 998 877 |
| Investec (1) | ||
| Investec Bank Sandown | 100 Grayston Dr Sandown Sandton | 011 286 7000 |
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