All 30 bank branches where you can get a smart ID or new passport

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is ramping up its efforts to enable South Africans, including naturalised citizens and permanent residents, as it moves to invalidate the older, less secure, green ID books.

Currently, 30 DHA-supported bank branches offer smart ID services in South Africa. While the number of branches has remained relatively constant in recent years, progress is being made in expanding these partnerships.

Many of the bank branches offering these services are in Gauteng, and although it is the most populous province in the country, it accounts for far less than half of the total population in South Africa.

Moreover, two provinces don’t have any branches offering these services.

The slow uptake has been mainly because banks cannot meaningfully benefit from the current arrangement and have to take a risk with service quality.

Frustrated with Home Affairs’ slow progress, banks asked the Banking Association of South Africa (Basa) to intervene.

It helped to negotiate an agreement with the department to give banks more control in the eHomeAffairs platform.

Basa recently confirmed to MyBroadband that the public-private partnership agreement had been finalised.

“Progress has been slow with the Christmas break, but the main agreement has been finalised,” said Basa prudential head Mark Brits.

“We continue to engage on the annexures through the DHA committee structures.”

In January 2025, Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber acknowledged that the partnership had been limited to around 30 bank branches for nearly a decade. He wants to expand the partnerships significantly.

“This must become hundreds if not thousands of bank branches. I want every village, town, city, and suburb in South Africa to have access to Home Affairs services in a local bank branch,” said Schreiber.

“I believe this will reduce the pressure on our offices and alleviate the long queues. Not to mention greatly expanding our footprint.”

To help achieve this, the DHA recently finalised an agreement with the Border Management Agency (BMA), Government Printing Works (GPW), and the South African Revenue Service.

The DHA said the agreement would help integrate Home Affairs services into banking platforms to expand access to smart ID and passport services to hundreds of banks, as well as banking apps, among other benefits.

“Work to roll out these revolutionary improvements is now in full swing, and the Department will announce their activation on an ongoing basis,” the DHA said.

The table below lists all bank branches in South Africa that support the DHA’s smart ID and passport services.