South Africans will soon be able to apply for passports at their banks, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Wednesday.

“The project to issue passports to bank clients will be piloted by Nedbank in October. As we move further, this will be piloted at two locations per bank, the roll out for other banks will be launched next year,” Gigaba said.

Gigaba and the department’s director general, Mkhuseli Apleni, visited Standard Bank and First National Bank head offices on Wednesday in Johannesburg to check on progress by the two institutions.

The two banks have issued 2 000 cards to employees at their head offices since August. The smart card campaign was launched by the department earlier this year to do away with the green barcoded identity books.

Standard Bank, Nedbank, and FNB have signed memoranda of understanding with the department to help roll the project. The system was being tested through issuing the cards to employees first before it could be opened for bank clients. Talks with ABSA to bring it onboard were underway, Gigaba said.

He added that the department planned to eradicate the green bar-coded books within five years.

“It an ambitious undertaking, but we are committed to that on our part. Other countries had shown interest in undertaking the technology, and were unable to implement it unfortunately. This is a huge process, and we were forced to think differently by getting the banks on board.”

The department was seeking ways to have qualifying school children apply for the smart cards at schools, instead of going to the department’s offices.

Gigaba said: “These steps are meant to cement customer satisfaction and service delivery. These changes could not be imagined as possible before, let alone being associated with the home affairs department.”