More bank branches to help with ID and passport applications
A much less daunting method of applying for your passport or ID is to visit a bank...
With the transition into getting back to a somewhat normal lifestyle, many people are keen on traveling.
Others are just getting their admin sorted out and moving from the old green barcoded identity document to a Smart ID.
The need for a more accommodating means to renew or apply for passports and IDs is therefore rising.
This is why the "Department of Home Affairs is slowly rolling out its services to more bank branches in South Africa, with a new office opening up in the Northern Cape, and more on the way. This brings the total number of active bank branches with Home Affairs services to 27, with the department anticipating the rollout of 43 more branches once agreements with the participating banks are signed in 2023." (Business Tech)
We appreciate the acknowledgement in creating a more convenient way of applying for these documents.
The progress in the department signing with banks has been slow. Besides the raising of several issues, there has also been some hesitancy from the banks.
"The department said, the banks have raised the State Information Technology Agency’s (SITA’s) turnaround times as a big reputation risk for them – and need assurances that their sites won’t be offline for longer periods." (Business Tech)
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The good news is that the department has embarked on R400-million upgrade of its systems.
"The upgrades will focus on replacing old equipment and expanding network capacity to ensure that there isn’t a fight among various DHA sites over the limited bandwidth." (Business Tech)
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