South African President Jacob Zuma has announced that the Department of Home Affairs will partner with domestic banks to speed up the roll-out of eID cards.Speaking at this year's State of the Nation Address, Zuma said that South Africans would be able to apply for their eID cards at local banks, but without revealing which specific banks.Following the launch of partnership with Gemalto in 2013, the department has issued over one million eIDs and has set out a target of issuing 1.6 million cards by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.Of the 403 Home Affairs offices, 110 are equipped with the necessary system for processing smart ID cards and new passports, Mkuseli Apleni, the department's director general, said in January. The department plans to increase this to 140 offices by March.Smart ID cards are being issued free of charge to 16 year olds as well as to citizens older than 60.Gemalto was chosen to provide its Sealys eID cards to South Africa, based on its secure embedded software technology, contactless tech and numerous other security features including biometric storage.
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