South Africans will be able to apply for the new Smart ID cards at the Home Affairs kiosks at their nearest banks, said Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, at a media briefing held in Cape Town.
Director-General Mkuseli Apleni said they were confident of reaching the target of 1.6 million cards by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.
The cards are issued free of charge to 16 year olds as well as those who are 60 years old and above.
Everyone will be able to submit their application as well as their biometric data via the kiosk at the bank. This includes taking a "biometric photograph", which is a scanning of fingerprints, as well as electronic signatures.
Gigaba said it was hoped the innovation would help ease the queues at Home Affairs' 403 offices, while also delivering a crucial service to citizens more efficiently.
Ready for the roll out?
Standard Bank has said that they are ready to roll out new Smart Card ID's at their branches nationwide.
"Standard Bank has 650 branches nationwide, and with this extensive footprint, it puts Standard Bank in a strong position to assist Government with reaching its goals. Not only is it an extremely convenient way to aid and deliver this crucial service to South Africans, but it will also be safer, quicker and more efficient," said Sibongiseni Ngundze, head of retail banking at Standard Bank.
The pilot phase will start in April 2015, but won't be able to all Standard Bank customers at first.
"As we are in a pilot phase, we will be starting the process with our Commercial and Business Banking customers as well as our Prestige and Private Banking customers. The pilot will run for six months, followed by a roll out to all customers. We are committed to rolling out this initiative as quickly as possible," said Ngundze.
Nedbank
Brian Duguid the managing executive of the Nedbank Integrated Channels at Nedbank said that the bank has been approached by Home Affairs to help with the roll out.
"Nedbank can confirm that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has approached the bank to explore feasibility to enable clients to apply for the new Smart ID Card via its branch network," said Duguid.
However, Nedbank has not yet committed to helping with the Smart Card ID roll out.
"The bank is currently assessing its infrastructure and processes to assist with the initiative. The bank has committed to a single site pilot to test the requirements as set out in the proposed memorandum of understanding'," said Duguid.
First National Bank
"First National Bank is pleased to confirm that an agreement has been signed with the Department of Home Affairs regarding the application for and collection of Smart Card Identity Documents," said Line Wiid, from FNB CEO's Office.
However, FNB said that they will make an announcement regarding the launch of this project in the near future.
"The processing of Smart Cards IDs at our branches is an extension of our commitment to improving access to essential services through public-private-partnerships," said Wiid.
Absa
"Absa is at an advanced stage of negotiations with Government to agree on our participation to assist DHA with the national roll-out of Smart ID Cards," said Absa.
Absa went on to say that further details on their roll-out strategy will be available in due course.