Get your IDs and passports at these banks

There are currently 30 bank branches in South Africa offering passport and smart ID services with several more in the planned. The failed deadline for launching the project to roll out services to more bank branches across the country was March 2024. Now it has been delayed once again. Over 43 additional branches are primed to roll out DHA services once the programme is in full swing.

DHA AND THE BANKING ASSOCIATION

At the end of last year, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the department had received confirmation from The Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) that the participating banks are ready to sign the partnership agreements, according to Business Tech. According to The Banking Association of South Africa, however, the discussions are not concluded yet.

WHEN WILL THE ROLL-OUT HAPPEN?

The new planned date for the roll-out of the pilot is September 2024. BASA noted that the pilot programme is facilitated through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides the legal relationship between the parties. South Africans can expect the rollout of new DHA branches at banks as soon as the legal contract is finalised which is currently at a developed, but not final, stage.

It is important to note that even when the launch takes place, the services may not be available immediately as banks need to finalise a legal agreement and prepare the branches with staffing and equipment before the services will be available to the public.

WHICH BANKS PROVIDE THE SERVICE ALREADY?

Currently, there are 30 bank branches offering the service. These branches are effectively part of a protracted pilot phase, which is why they are still few and far between. Over half of these bank branches (16) are in Gauteng.

The DHA-enabled bank branches in South Africa are as follows:

Gauteng

Absa Centurion Lifestyle Centre
Absa Sandton City
Discovery Bank Head Office
FNB Centurion Lifestyle Centre
Standard Bank Killarney Mall
FNB Glen Shopping Centre
FNB Lynnwood
Standard Bank Jubilee Mall
FNB Merchant Place
Nedbank Constantia Kloof
Absa Key West Krugersdorp
Investec Bank Sandown
Nedbank Arcadia
Nedbank Rivonia
Standard Bank Centurion Lifestyle Centre
Standard Bank Simmonds Street

Western Cape

Absa Stellenbosch
Absa Towers
FNB Greenpoint
Nedbank St George’s Mall
Standard Bank Canal Walk
Standard Bank Mitchell’s Plain Promenade

KwaZulu-Natal

FNB Cornubia
Nedbank Durban North
Standard Bank Kingsmead

Eastern Cape

Absa Port Elizabeth
Standard Bank Newton Park

Mpumalanga 

Nedbank Nelspruit

Limpopo 

FNB Burgersfort

Northern Cape

Standard Bank Kathu Mall

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