13 August 2025
Absa, a leading pan-African financial services provider, and South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, have partnered to bring Smart ID and Passport services to the Absa Banking App for the bank’s clients.
This collaboration is an overhaul of the existing pilot project that has been in existence since 2016. Absa was part of the initial cohort of banks in the country to offer services through its physical network when the government piloted the concept in 2016.
Aligned to Absa’s aspirations to enhance accessibility to all customers, the digital partnership enables Absa to expand Home Affairs services more broadly and across its branch network, empowering customers with faster and easier access to Smart ID and Passport application services, anytime and anywhere.
Minister Leon Schreiber said: “I warmly welcome Absa to our revamped digital partnership model that will see us deliver services in every corner in South Africa through their branch network and digital app. This is the beginning of the end for long queues to access Home Affairs’ critical services. It constitutes a transformative pro-inclusion and pro-poor intervention, that will bring these services to all South Africans regardless of who they are or where they live.”
“We congratulate Minister Leon Schreiber and the leadership of the Department of Home Affairs for boldly envisioning a more agile technologically enhanced ecosystem anchored in customer-centricity. This is about unlocking choice and is a major uplift for our customers who seek even greater convenience in their day-to-day moments,” said Christine Wu, Co-Interim Chief Executive of Absa Personal and Private Banking.
“By collaborating with the Department of Home Affairs, we’re bringing services closer to where people are — in their hands, on their screens, and on their terms. It’s part of our commitment to supporting the government’s goal to broaden access to this essential service while furthering our own ambitions of delivering superior and seamless digital experiences for our customers,” said Wu.
Absa’s banking app, which has attracted a 4.8-star rating in app stores, has realised an accelerated uptake over the past five years, garnering more than three million users as customers increasingly migrate to digital transactions – an expression of confidence in the security of the app. App usage continues to grow in double-digit terms annually, fueled by among other things, customer interest in an ever-expanding catalogue of services in the app and featuring enhanced self-service transactional, savings, investments, rewards and payment capabilities, including travel booking functionalities.
