South Africans With Green ID Books Can Swap to a Smart ID at 146 Bank Branches

• South Africans with green ID books can now walk into 146 bank branches and get a Smart ID in minutes without any paperwork or bookings
• The green ID book has a fraud rate 500% higher than the Smart ID card, making it one of the most dangerous documents to carry in Mzansi
• Over 63,000 South Africans have already traded in their green ID books for Smart IDs since the programme launched on 9 March 2026

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber delivered some long-overdue good news on 21 April 2026.

Just six weeks after launching the Digital Partnership Model with South Africa’s banking sector, 146 bank branches across the country went live on the new system. South Africans carrying the old green ID book can now walk into a participating branch near them. The process takes just minutes and requires no bookings or paperwork at all.

This is a massive deal for the roughly 16 million South Africans still relying on the green, bar-coded ID book. The switch is done through a fully digital process built into local bank branches across the country. A secure Digital Gateway links each participating bank directly to Home Affairs systems. More than 63,000 citizens have already made the switch since the programme went live.

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Why the green ID book has become a serious problem

The green ID book has been a headache for South Africa for a very long time. According to research by Smile ID, the green ID book recorded Africa’s highest document fraud rate at 34% in 2023. Fraud rates for the green ID book were found to be 500% higher than for Smart ID cards in 2024. Criminals have long exploited the book’s outdated design because it has no chip and no biometric protection.

A 2025 report told of how a stolen green ID book was used to falsely implicate an innocent South African in serious crimes. The person had to deal with the legal mess through absolutely no fault of their own. Smart ID cards carry embedded chips and biometric data, making that kind of theft far harder to pull off.

What the Digital Partnership Model means for you

The Digital Partnership Model entered its live operational phase on 9 March 2026. The first Capitec and Standard Bank branches joined the programme in March 2026 when the system went live. FNB branches came on board on 1 April 2026, and Absa has since joined the growing list. The model deepens the existing Online Verification Service between Home Affairs and South Africa’s banking sector.

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In the update shared on X, Schreiber said, "Just 6 weeks after we launched our new digital partnership model, 146 bank branches are now live across the length and breadth of South Africa."

He added that, "Over 63 000 citizens have already replaced IDs in just 5 minutes - no bookings or paperwork required."

See the update by Minister Leon Schreiber below:

Citizens complete the entire Smart ID application through the bank’s own service environment, connected directly to Home Affairs. South African citizens, qualifying naturalised citizens, and permanent residents holding green ID books are all eligible to apply.

More about Smart IDs

• Briefly News previously reported that Capitec has expanded its Smart ID service to 67 branches across all nine provinces, pushing South Africa past 100 bank branches for the first time.
• Capitec opened 30 new Smart ID branches in its first week alone, far outpacing its own targets and covering all nine provinces across South Africa.
• A Cape Town man showed Mzansi how to skip the Home Affairs queue entirely using just a Capitec branch and R150.

Source: Briefly News