TymeBank customers will soon be able to apply for their ID and passport documents in the banking app or via the fintech’s 1 000-plus branded kiosks at Pick n Pay, Boxer and TFG stores around South Africa.
This follows an agreement between TymeBank and the department of home affairs, which have had a fractured relationship recently over the sharp hike in fees to access the national population register database.
“TymeBank will play an integral role in home affairs’ transformative initiatives to expand the efficient delivery of public services to the nation, including its more than 11 million customers,” TymeBank said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The partnership will reinforce data security and system integrity, ensuring that smart IDs and passports are issued with the highest levels of protection and reliability,” the statement said.
Before the system is integrated, TymeBank said it is going to go through a testing phase at its Johannesburg head office before home affairs’ services are expanded to other locations nationwide.
The move follows similar partnerships between home affairs and other banks, including FNB and Standard Bank, as the department aims to expand its services by leveraging external infrastructure.
The partnership with TymeBank is unique in that the fintech player does not own physical infrastructure in the way traditional banks have branches. TymeBank offers its clients services like card printing via its kiosks.
Private discussions
According to a TymeBank spokeswoman, the app will facilitate the application process, with its kiosks to be used to take photos and fingerprints. How the documents will be distributed to applicants is yet to be determined, she said.
The relationship between TymeBank and home affairs minister Leon Schreiber soured in recent months after a fight over the minister’s decision in March to hike the fees the department charges entities like banks and insurance firms to access the national population register database.
Read: Bank branch smart ID and passport services set for big expansion
Speaking to TechCentral in June, TymeBank co-founder Coen Jonker – who now serves as CEO of the bank’s parent company, Tyme Group – said the move, by home affairs minister Leon Schreiber, to jack up the fees would harm financial inclusion in South Africa by making it more difficult to serve low-income customers.
The situation was still simmering by August, when TymeBank confirmed to TechCentral that it was engaged in private discussions with home affairs to resolve the matter. Asked about the database fee fight, the TymeBank spokeswoman said TymeBank and home affairs are “aligned when it comes to doing what is best for all South Africans”.
“TymeBank’s mission has always been to expand banking using an innovative, secure and technology-driven model that offers simple, accessible and affordable products to all South Africans. We are proud to bring that same secure digital capability to support home affairs in delivering trusted, citizen-focused services,” TymeBank CEO Karl Westvig said in the statement. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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Bank branch smart ID and passport services set for big expansion
