The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and South Africa’s major banks claim to still be cooperating on plans to extend the latter’s Smart ID and Passport services to more bank branches, with this year being the target year for a number of new locations.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) has been under negotiation between the DHA and the banks for a number of years.
The SLAs are associated with a trial programme that allows South Africans to receive Home Affairs services from satellite branches at participating bank branches all around the nation.
South Africans can apply for, process, and pick up Smart IDs and passports through the branches, avoiding the lengthy lines and stretched service levels that are sometimes encountered at normal Home Affairs branches.
The banking Home Affairs pilot program’s time frame came to an end in July 2022, but the banks agreed to extend it until 31 March 2023.
The Banking Association of South Africa and the participating institutions have now decided to extend the pilot until September 2023, according to FNB.
After the agreements are inked, the government plans to open 43 more offices at bank branches in South Africa, according to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
According to Lee-Anne van Zyl, CEO of FNB Points of Presence, the bank has identified a number of branches around the nation where the service may be expanded, pending additional discussions with the Department.
As part of our efforts to assist our clients in accessing this crucial service, they will continue to collaborate closely with the Department, she said.
After the contracts are inked, Nedbank said it also intends to expand its activities.
Customers can now apply for ID documents at Nedbank branches that serve as the DHA, but Nedbank stated that if the SLA agreement is finalised, it may include extended services for customers regardless of which bank the DHA site is affiliated with.
Inquiries should be sent to the Department of Home Affairs by Standard Bank and Absa. Although the department acknowledged receiving the inquiries, no response had been given as of the time of publishing.
The Standard Bank, Kathu Mall branch, which opened at the end of 2022, is the most recent bank location to open for Home Affairs services.
The Menlyn Mall branch will open in March 2023, and additional malls are scheduled to have branches in the near future. In the interim, the department is also expanding its branch network to standalone offices at malls across the nation.
Tackling Home Affairs ID and Passport delays
The department has previously stated that talks with the participating banks have been delayed, in large part because of reluctance owing to the reputational damage associated with prolonged service interruptions from Home Affairs.
The State Information Technology Agency’s (SITA) turnaround times have been cited by banks as a major reputation risk, and they need guarantees that their websites won’t remain out for extended periods of time, the department stated in November.
According to the DHA, SITA is upgrading its core network for R400 million over the course of the next five years.
To prevent a conflict between different DHA sites over the meagre bandwidth, the renovations will concentrate on removing outdated equipment and increasing network capacity.
