South African citizens are still not able to apply for smart ID cards at banks or online. This is despite government envisioning the pilot phase to start in May.
During his state of the nation address, president Jacob Zuma said South Africans will be able to apply for their smart ID cards at local banks, in an effort to accelerate the rollout.
In April, the government news agency Web site stated the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will pilot an eChannel system which will allow citizens to apply for smart ID cards online, through their bank's Web site. Mpho Moloi, the department's chief director for channel management, said he "envisaged" it happening in May.
Two months later, this has not come about. The DHA was contacted for comment but failed to respond.
Moloi said in April that First National Bank and Standard Bank had eChannel sites ready to go live.
The system, which the department hopes will lead to shorter queues, allows citizens to enter personal details digitally before going into the bank for fingerprint capturing and identification verification.
FNB has confirmed it has signed an agreement with the DHA regarding the application for and collection of smart IDs. Lee-Anne van Zyl, CEO of FNB Points of Presence, says: "FNB will make a further announcement regarding the launch of this project in coming months."
The DHA introduced the card, with security features, as part of its modernisation programme in 2013. More than one million cards have already been issued and government aims to issue another 1.6 million cards by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.
The DHA hopes to replace 38 million green bar-coded ID books within the next eight years.
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