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Smart move by Home Affairs

Source: Shenaaz Jamal – Times Live, 01/10/2015

In a bid to cope with the sheer number of applications for the new
smart ID cards, the Department of Home Affairs has teamed up with
three major banks.

The department will set up offices in FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank
branches nationwide which will issue the new IDs from early next year.

"Our main challenge is to facilitate smart-card applications.

"Our offices are a hard place to handle the sheer number of
applications required to fully roll out the smart IDs to all citizens
within five years," said Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba.

"We have identified the possibility of leverage, the customer network,
and geographic footprint of banks as an additional channel of the
smart-card ID roll-out."

The roll-out will be funded through the R2.5-billion modernisation
budget from National Treasury over five years.

An e-portal channel on the department's website will be launched early
next year which will enable customers to apply for their smart ID
cards and passports online. They would then visit their nearest bank
branch that has a Home Affairs office to submit their photograph and
scan their fingerprints.

"Our hope is that by accessing the banks' 20 million clients we will
dramatically increase the speed efficiency and convenience of the
roll-out. Customers will be able to conveniently apply for their smart
ID cards at their branches to avoid long queues at Home Affairs," said
Gigaba.

"It will be good for the banks in speeding up the process of getting
clients on the new and more secure ID card that will be vital in
preventing identity theft," he added.

Customers will be able to collect their smart IDs and passports from
the home affairs office situated in their bank branch in seven days.

After launching the pilot project in August, the department set up
offices in Standard Bank and FNB that have thus far issued close to
2000 smart ID cards on site.

While the two pilot offices at this stage are only able to issue smart
IDs, the Nedbank pilot office in Sandton will as of this month issue
smart IDs as well as passports.

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