Before the Department of Home Affairs began taking Smart ID renewals seriously, Absa was one of the country’s few banks to offer the service at select branches. If you weren’t near one of those branches, however, you were forced to pay a visit to the local Home Affairs office. That’s not a fate we’d wish on anyone. Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber unveiled plans in August 2025 to get all the biggest banks on board to speed up the process.
So far, the plan is working. Capitec, in particular, has embraced the initiative, equipping more than 100 branches across the country with Smart ID capabilities. Now it’s Absa’s turn, with the bank announcing its newest Smart ID locations and a couple of other crucial features. Like booking your appointments via the Absa mobile app.
Absa joins the Smart ID race
“Absa is officially live under our groundbreaking digital partnership as the 4th bank to deliver Smart ID card services without any paperwork, bookings or queues,” wrote Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber. “With Absa on board, 296 bank branches are now live – having already processed 385 000 transactions in 4 months!”
Schreiber also noted that Absa had launched a new mobile unit — AKA Bank on the Move — which is headed first for Gauteng and will offer Smart ID renewals on the move. The idea is to bring the service to more underserved communities within the country, particularly those who cannot visit a physical branch or Home Affairs.
The bank also confirmed that twelve branches have received the Smart ID upgrade, in addition to those already offering the service. Better yet, Absa hopes to expand with another 60 branches before the end of 2026. Here’s hoping these will be spread out across the country, potentially integrating into more rural areas.
Read More: Standard Bank’s Smart ID push hits 50 branches across SA
You can check out the list of Absa’s newest branches where you can order a new Smart ID, or replace a lost one. One must simply walk into Mordor the branches mentioned below to kickstart the process. Or, if you’d rather schedule an appointment online, you can do so — though only from Monday, 20 July.
- Rosebank – 21 Cradock Ave, Rosebank, Johannesburg
- Waterfall Mall – 1 Augrabies Ave, Cashan, Rustenburg
- Pinetown – cnr School and Josiah Gumede, Pinetown CBD, Pinetown
- Claremont – Shop 15 – 19, Cavendish Square, 1 Dreyer St, Claremont, Cape Town
- Nelspruit Crossing – Shop 55, Nelspruit Crossing Centre cnr Madiba and Samora Machel Dr, Vintonia, Mbombela
- Cape Gate – Shop L39, CapeGate Centre, Capegate Blvd, Cape Gate
- Greenstone Mall – Shop L065, Greenstone Mall cnr Van Riebeeck Ave and Stoneride Drive, Greenstone Hill, Modderfontein
- Vincent Park – Shop 57 Vincent Park Shopping Centre, Vincent, KuGompo City
- Menlyn Park – Shop LF15, Menlyn Park Centre cnr Atterbury Road and Lois Ave, Menlyn, Pretoria
- Uitenhage – 104 Caledon St, Cannon Hill, Kariega
- Mall of the North – Shop L43 Mall of the North R81, Bendor Park, Polokwane
- Tembisa – Shop LG17, Mall of Tembisa, 2175 Antimony Road, Clayville
“Under our Home Affairs @ home reform programme, which includes expanding our new Digital Partnership to 750 participating bank branches by the end of this year, together with innovations such as Bank on the Move, we are bringing secure and dignified access to Smart ID services closer to where people live and work than ever before,” said Schreiber.
