Pretoria - In an effort to accelerate the rollout of the new Smart ID Card, government has partnered with local banks, President Zuma announced on Thursday.
“To further improve access to identity documents, citizens will from this year be able to apply for the new Smart ID Card at their local bank due to partnership between the Department of Home Affairs and some banks in the country,” said in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday.
In 2013, Home Affairs introduced the Smart ID Card and the new passport as part of its modernisation programme.
The new ID card and passport bear strong security features, which significantly reduces the chances of fraudulently producing these two essential items.
The department has issued over one million Smart ID Cards and has set out a target of issuing 1.6 million cards by the end of the 2014/15 financial year. – SAnews.gov.za
