How to find a Smart ID bank branch using Home Affairs’ new online locator

Getting a Smart ID through a bank can save South Africans a trip to a Home Affairs office, but there’s one problem: not every bank branch offers the service, meaning South Africans may not know where to go.

Home Affairs has now made it easier to find out which branches are participating.

The Department of Home Affairs has launched an online partner-branch locator on its My Home Affairs Online platform, giving South Africans a central place to search for participating bank branches offering Smart ID services.

The list is designed to be updated as more branches join the department’s Digital Partnership programme.

Here’s how to use it.

Step 1: Go to the Home Affairs locator

Go to the My Home Affairs Online partner-branch page.

This is the official Home Affairs page for finding participating partner branches.

Step 2: Search for your area

Once you’re on the partner-branch page, use the search options provided to find participating branches in the area you’re interested in.

You can search for a location rather than having to check individual bank websites or contact branches one by one.

For example if you would like to check which FNB branch offering Smart IDs is closest to you, simply select FNB from the drop down. Then, enter a city, suburb, province, or postal code to see which branch is available in your area.

This is particularly useful because the fact that a bank offers Smart ID services does not mean every branch of that bank does.

Home Affairs’ locator is intended to provide a single, up-to-date directory as the network expands.

Step 3: Check the branch details

Once you find a branch, check the information displayed before making the trip.

The important thing is to make sure the specific branch is listed as a participating partner branch.

Don’t simply assume that the nearest branch of a participating bank offers Smart ID services.

The number of participating branches has been growing as Home Affairs expands its Digital Partnership programme. When the locator was launched in August, the department said there were 372 participating bank branches across South Africa.

Step 4: Check which application route applies

This is where things can get slightly confusing.

Home Affairs currently has more than one route for Smart ID applications involving banks.

Under the newer Digital Partnership model, participating partner branches can process Smart ID applications and biometric capture through the bank, with the newer system designed to reduce some of the traditional appointment and upfront-payment requirements.

However, not every bank branch necessarily operates under the same process.

Some bank branches operating through the older eHomeAffairs system still require applicants to complete an online application and make an appointment before visiting the branch.

That makes checking the specific branch particularly important.