The Department of Home Affairs has reached another historic milestone on its path-breaking journey of digital transformation, with 203 bank branches now live in the new digital partnership model with the banking sector.

Additionally, over a quarter of a million people have already used this service to obtain a replacement Smart ID card since it was launched on 9 March.

Given that, under the previous model, only 248 Home Affairs offices and 32 bank branches offered Smart ID replacement services, the addition of 203 bank branches means that access to this critical service has been expanded by 73% in a little over three months.

The unprecedented success of this project is dramatically enhancing access to Smart ID services and accelerating efforts to replace the vulnerable Green ID Book faster than ever before.

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Approximately 16 million South Africans still rely on the Green ID Book, which is prone to fraud and identity theft.

As recently affirmed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, replacing it with the Smart ID card is essential to strengthening the integrity of South Africa's identity system, protecting citizens against fraud and identity theft, and securing the population register that underpins citizenship, immigration and national security.

The Home Affairs @ home reform programme is now making that transition possible at an unprecedented scale.

The 203 branches that are now live include 109 Capitec branches, 74 Standard Bank branches, and 20 FNB branches. Inside these branches, it now takes as little as five minutes to apply for a Smart ID through a fully biometric process that requires no paperwork, no prior booking, and leaves no room for discretion.

Home Affairs said this milestone represents the largest reform and expansion of access to its services since the dawn of democracy.

"Reaching more than 200 participating bank branches and processing over 250 000 transactions in just over three months since the launch of this project is a remarkable achievement and a powerful demonstration of the progress being made through our Home Affairs @ home reform programme. Smart ID replacement services are now closer to all South Africans than ever before," Home Affairs Minister, Dr Leon Schreiber said.

"In the context of this spectacular progress, I am excited to share that there is much more still to come. Not only will we expand the Smart ID replacement service to 750 branches by the end of this year, but we will shortly also add first-time Smart ID applications, Passport applications, and home deliveries to all of these bank branches," Minister Schreiber said.

"I reiterate my call to the people of South Africa: if you still have a Green ID book, help us to eradicate identity theft that feeds illegal immigration and financial fraud by switching to the Smart ID today.

"Our digital partnership with the banks has made it easier than ever to switch. Just visit dha.gov.za/banks to find your nearest branch and switch today," the minister said.