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The home affairs department has launched an online service aimed at making it easier for South Africans to locate bank branches where they can apply for a smart ID card.
Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said the latest initiative reflects the department's commitment to improving access to its services.
According to home affairs, 372 participating bank branches around the country now offer smart ID applications, making it more convenient for citizens to replace the green bar-coded ID book with the more secure smart ID card.
The online service myhomeaffairsonline.dha.gov.za is available on the department's website and will be updated automatically as more bank branches join.
Since the digital partnership was introduced in March, more than 500,000 South Africans have applied for smart ID cards through participating bank branches.
Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said the latest initiative reflects the department's commitment to improving access to its services.
"This new online service makes it easier than ever for South Africans to find their nearest participating bank branch and switch to the secure smart ID card. Every reform we implement should make our services easier to access, and this is another practical step towards achieving that goal."
The minister urged South Africans who are still using the green bar-coded ID book to take advantage of the new online service and switch to the smart ID card, citing its enhanced security against fraud.