Smart ID and passport services coming to Pick n Pays across South Africa

TymeBank has become the latest bank to join Home Affairs’ updated partnership with banks, which will now extend Smart ID and passport services to South African retailers.

As TymeBank is a fully digital bank, with no physical branches in the country, these services will be available at its kiosks in nearly all Pick n Pay, Boxer and TFG stores in South Africa.

This is expected to significantly improve and expand access to routine Home Affairs services in the country, forming part of the department’s “Home Affairs @ home” initiative. 

The Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) partnership with banks is now new, with the eHomeAffairs system introduced in 2016.

Since then, FNB, Standard Bank, Absa, Investec, Nedbank, and Discovery Bank operated pilot sites. This project was highly successful, but has been limited to 30 bank branches since its launch.

Now, the DHA is looking to expand this project, with a goal of expanding these services to 1,000 bank branches by 2029 as part of its “Home Affairs @ home” strategy.

Capitec, FNB, and Standard Bank were the first banks to sign up for this partnership in mid-August, and several others have followed in the weeks since.

This includes Nedbank, African Bank, Absa, and Discovery Bank, with TymeBank being the latest to join on Wednesday, 2 September.

TymeBank’s participation in this partnership is different from that of other banks, as the digital bank has no physical branches.

Instead, clients interact with the bank through its over 1,400 kiosks found in retailers across the country, including Pick n Pay, Boxer and TFG stores.

The other fully digital bank part of this initiative, Discovery Bank, does not have ATMs, kiosks or branches. 

Like with the other banks in the partnership, it is expected that Discovery Bank clients will eventually be able to access Smart ID and passport services through the bank’s app.

Expanding access

In announcing its partnership with the DHA, TymeBank said it will play an integral role in the department’s initiatives to expand the efficient delivery of public services, including to its more than 11 million customers.

“The collaboration will ensure that South African citizens benefit from TymeBank’s cutting-edge technology to access DHA services in an inclusionary, seamless, and efficient way,” the bank said. 

“The partnership will reinforce data security and system integrity, ensuring that Smart IDs and passports are issued with the highest levels of protection and reliability.”

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber TymeBank will help the DHA to further accelerate its journey towards achieving the department’s vision of Home Affairs at home. 

“South Africa is a leader in digital financial services, and it is high time that we leverage this knowledge to improve the state’s ability to deliver services,” he said. 

“Through this partnership, millions of South Africans will for the first time ever have access to a Smart ID and passport, many of whom live in the most remote and impoverished parts of our country.” 

“This is why I say that this is the most pro-poor and inclusive reform Home Affairs has implemented in its existence.”

Karl Westvig, CEO of TymeBank, described the partnership as a natural alignment between two digitally enabled organizations that are driven by a shared commitment to serving and uplifting South Africans with technology-enabled progress.

TymeBank said it will first embark on a comprehensive test-and-learn phase at its Johannesburg head office before the DHA services can be expanded to TymeBank locations nationwide.