Key points
- South Africa’s Home Affairs department said Smart ID applications are now open at 753 bank branches.
- The target was 750 branches by March 2027, so it was met more than four months early.
- The department said over one million people have used the service since it launched on March 9, 2026.
- Absa, Capitec, First National Bank and Standard Bank take part, using biometric capture in about five minutes.
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs said on November 11 that Smart ID card applications can now be made at 753 bank branches. Minister Leon Schreiber announced the figure in a government release issued in Pretoria.
The bank partnership began on March 9, 2026. The department had set a target of 750 branches by the end of the 2026-27 financial year, in March 2027. It said more than one million people have used the service so far.
How the bank service works
The participating banks are Absa, Capitec, First National Bank and Standard Bank. According to the department, customers need no prior booking, paperwork or queue, and applications are processed with secure biometric technology in about five minutes. Customers can find their nearest participating branch on the Home Affairs online portal.
The department said the number of its offices equipped for Smart ID applications rose from 214 at the start of this administration to 967 locations. It said more banks and services will be added.
The green ID book phase-out
The release links the expansion to the plan to retire the green ID book, which the department calls fraud-prone. TechCentral reported on October 1 that Schreiber said the book stops being valid ID on March 31, 2028. The outlet put the number of people holding only a green ID book at about 14.7 million.
TechCentral also noted that Capitec appears to handle most Smart ID uptake so far, which it said points to reliance on a single bank. The Home Affairs release does not give a breakdown by bank. For background, see our guides on biometric authentication and biometric accuracy.
Open questions
Will uptake spread evenly across all four banks, and across rural areas with few branches? How will the department handle the millions who still hold only the green book before the 2028 deadline? The release does not say how biometric data captured at banks is stored or shared with the department.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs release, distributed by APO Group (Nov 11, 2026)
- TechCentral, “Home Affairs pulls the plug on the green ID book” (Oct 1, 2026)
