Good news for Standard Bank clients who need a new smart ID

Standard Bank has confirmed the phased rollout of Smart ID application and renewal services at select branches across South Africa. 

The bank will begin rolling out the service at its Rosebank, Maponya Mall, and Westgate branches before scaling it across the country. 

Standard Bank said this reinforces its decade-long partnership with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and its commitment to improving access to essential public services for South Africans.

During the launch phase, Standard Bank clients will not be charged any convenience or logistics fees, paying only the standard Department of Home Affairs application fee of R140.

This phased rollout has been facilitated by the Department of Home Affairs’ new digital partnership model, which South Africa’s major banks have signed up to. 

The model is a new phase of an existing collaboration between Home Affairs and South Africa’s biggest banks, called the eHomeAffairs system. 

It connects bank branch infrastructure directly to Home Affairs’ backend systems, enabling faster, more reliable processing without duplicating state resources in branches.

The DHA introduced the eHomeAffairs system in 2016. Since then, FNB, Standard Bank, Absa, Investec, Nedbank, and Discovery Bank have operated successful pilot sites.

Currently, 30 bank branches in South Africa offer passport and Smart ID renewals through this system.

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

“Access to identity documents is foundational to participation in the economy,” Head of Fraud Operations, Client Experience and Risk Execution at Standard Bank, Marius Le Roux, said. 

Standard Bank has been a participant in the Home Affairs bank partnership model since its inception in 2016.

The in-branch service allows clients to apply for or renew Smart ID cards, complete payment, and collect their IDs at the same branch, reducing queues and travel time, Le Roux said. 

The end of green ID books

The expansion of Home Affairs’ partnership with South Africa’s biggest banks is part of its efforts to scale its rollout of Smart IDs in the country. 

These IDs are intended to replace the green ID book in South Africa, which is one of the most defrauded documents in Africa due to its inherent vulnerabilities. 

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has said that the smart ID is “exponentially more secure” and will reduce the risks of identity theft and financial fraud. 

Schreiber’s department has made significant progress in scaling its rollout of Smart IDs, with 2025 seeing a record four million cards issued. 

This marks the highest rate in the department’s history, with the DHA showing no signs of slowing down in 2026.

In late January, Home Affairs revealed that it issued 4,002,964 Smart ID cards in 2025, a 17% increase from the 3,427,468 issued in 2024.

“This historic breakthrough represents the latest milestone under the department’s vision to deliver Home Affairs @ home through the pursuit of digital transformation,” it said.

This scaled rollout has been enabled by significant investment in repairing the Online Verification Service, which has been plagued by a lack of funding and abuse. 

The lack of funding and abuse combined to make it difficult to verify South Africans’ identities and effectively increase the rollout of Smart IDs. 

“Correcting this has led to higher uptime and better performance of the population register at Home Affairs offices, directly contributing to giving more South Africans access to Smart IDs than ever before,” Home Affairs said.

Schreiber explained that the department’s 2025 milestone “demonstrates how our commitment to digital transformation is expanding inclusion and access at a scale never seen before”.

“Thanks to the ongoing digital transformation of Home Affairs, over four million more people gained the ability to securely open a bank account, access employment, and obtain social grants in 2025.”

Following the milestone reached in 2025, the DHA is now focused on enhancing access to Smart IDs even further.

A key part of this will be the expansion of the service offered by banks, which will bring Home Affairs closer to more South Africans and reduce wait times throughout its points of presence.