'Something fishy about bank ID card deals'

MPs smell something “fishy” about the collaboration by Home Affairs with the big four banks for new Smart ID card applications, with some questioning how much money the banks stand to make from the department’s new strategy. MPs also raised concerns about identity security and the involvement of the SA Post Office, which has been confronted with major labour unrest and governance issues. The project will start with four pilot sites in banking branches where citizens can apply for their IDs, instead of queuing in line at one of the 407 Home Affairs sites around the country. The department says the days of being called “Horror Affairs” are numbered as the new strategy will make ID applications more efficient with less queuing and create greater access to smart ID cards.

The department also says it is ready to pilot eChannel, its new innovative system that will allow citizens to apply for their smart ID cards from the comfort of their own homes. The first phase of the pilot project will involve just FNB and Standard Bank, which have already signed agreements with the department. Absa and Nedbank have also made moves to start and are in the process of signing memorandums of understanding. Mpho Moloi, the department’s chief director for Channel Management, said all systems were in place to roll out the pilot project that would also allow customers to walk into their nearest bank to apply for their smart ID cards. “FNB and Standard Bank have already signed a memorandum of understanding and have provided a site each and envisage to go online in May,” said Moloi. ANC MP Alfred Nesi questioned the process, asking what the staff at Home Affairs would do once the programme was rolled out.

“Because everything seems to be going to the banks. What will the department be doing when all these things are working? I suspect there’s something smelling like fish in the deals with these banks. They (Home Affairs) will be renting in these banks, for big sums of money. There are no banks that are going to give space for free. It can’t happen,” said Nesi. DA spokesman on Home Affairs, Haniff Hoosen, said the benefits to the bank was a very “simple and straight forward” matter. “What benefit is there going to be for the banks? Surely there must be some explanation for that in the memorandum of understanding. I started off extremely positive and I’ve been taken backwards actually,” said Hoosen. “It worries me that department officials themselves don’t know with ‘absolute certainty’ the issue about security and how it will be protected,” he added. Moloi said at the pilot sites, applicants would be expected to pay the normal R140 for the Smart ID which will be processed by the banks that will then charge fees to customer.

He said there were currently 38 million green ID books that needed to be replaced to avoid duplication of identity. “What will the banks stand to benefit? What I think they stand to benefit from transactions, when people are able to use their bank cards to transact for Home Affairs services. They give them a bigger number of people to transact, so they will get benefit that arises out of the use of the transactions that will come from bank charges they will get,” said Moloi. The banks were approaching them “with caution” because they were concerned with Home Affairs as a brand, he said. “It’s a risk for them,” said Moloi. ANC MP Donald Gumede said his biggest concern was the use of the SA Post Office which had been plagued with governance challenges. “My concern is that we employ the SA Post Office as a means to extend our footprint. That is very good as it stands and as it looks.

“But have you looked at the brand? How can they (Post Office) manage risk if they have a strike for three months and they cannot deliver post? What about sophisticated ID cards, are they going to be able to handle that?” asked Gumede.