Absa joins Home Affairs rollout, offers Smart ID services at select branches

Absa Bank has begun offering Department of Home Affairs Smart ID card application services at selected branches, expanding access to identity services under the department’s Digital Partnership Model.

What Absa is rolling out

The initial phase of Absa’s participation sees 12 branches offering Smart ID applications. The bank plans to bring a further 60 branches online before the end of 2026. The rollout is part of a national programme that now includes 296 participating bank branches across South Africa.

Mobile service plans

Absa has announced plans to introduce a mobile offering called Bank on the Move, which is intended to extend Home Affairs services to more communities. Further details about the mobile service are due during the official rollout.

Scale and early results

The Department of Home Affairs reports that since the digital banking partnership launched, more than 385,000 Smart ID applications have been processed through participating banks over a four-month period. The programme aims to ease pressure at Home Affairs offices and to make it easier for people to apply for the Smart ID card.

“Processing more than 385,000 Smart ID applications in just four months demonstrates that South Africans are embracing a faster, more secure and more convenient way of accessing Home Affairs services,” Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said.

National targets and other banks

The department has set a target of expanding the Digital Partnership to 750 participating bank branches by the end of 2026. Other banks already in the programme include Capitec Bank, Standard Bank and First National Bank.

Separately, Nedbank has confirmed it will launch its Digital Partnership service during the third quarter of 2026, initially activating the service at nine branches as part of a phased rollout.

How the new system works

Under the Digital Partnership Model, trained bank staff at participating branches can process qualifying Smart ID applications directly, removing the need for customers to book appointments through Home Affairs under the older eHomeAffairs pilot.

The expansion forms part of the Department of Home Affairs’ Home Affairs @ home reform programme, which aims to bring government services closer to where people live and work.