South Africa’s national digital ID now works as a prototype, but it is not yet open to the public. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber showed the first working digital ID on his own smartphone.
He gave the demonstration at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg on 1 October 2026. No public launch date has been set, and the final rules are still being processed, Business News South Africa reported.
According to TechCentral, the credential came from the population register and was tied to the chip in his phone. The wallet screen shown on stage was a mock-up.
When a verifier asked for his details, Schreiber approved the request but kept back his ID number. He shared other details, such as his nationality. When he turned down a second request, access was refused.
Schreiber described the digital ID as a remote check linked to biometrics, not a photo of a card. EWN reported that a person can be verified by scanning a QR code or using a near field reader.
Birth certificates and other Home Affairs documents are planned for the wallet later, EWN reported. Schreiber said the department serves 63 million people through only 329 offices.
Lohan Spies, founder of identity firm DIDx, told Daily Maverick that Home Affairs issues the credential in a format called mDoc. It is stored on the phone, with its keys protected by the phone’s secure hardware. It can also be shared from phone to phone over Bluetooth.
The deadline for the green ID book is fixed. EWN reported that green ID books will stop being made on 31 March 2027. The book will no longer be accepted from 31 March 2028.
In May 2026, Schreiber published draft regulations under the Identification Act, with comments due by 6 June. The draft would make digital credentials an extra valid form of identity. Using it would be optional, and the Smart ID card would stay.
The draft also sets rules for enrolment and biometric capture. It would let identity information be shared with accredited institutions under the Identification Act, the Promotion of Access to Information Act and POPIA.
TechCentral reported that Home Affairs plans to finish the hosting system, being built inside SARS’s IT setup, by 31 March 2027. Citizens would then get credentials through a mobile wallet in the 2027/28 financial year.
The project is behind its first schedule. Biometric Update, citing an Operation Vulindlela progress report, said a nationwide rollout had earlier been previewed for April 2025.
The digital ID is the first of four projects in the government’s digital transformation roadmap. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi launched the roadmap in May 2025. The other projects are a data exchange system, a digital payments system and a single digital services platform.
Banks already help with the physical rollout. EWN reported that 515 bank branches now handle smart ID replacements. None of the sources explain how banks would use the digital ID to check customers.
Schreiber has said the final rules will put hard limits on data use, TechCentral reported. He said users will see each time their data is accessed. Critics have questioned the use of 2D selfies to prove a person is real.
Research ICT Africa said in a 1 June submission that Home Affairs had not met its POPIA duties. The group asked for the draft to be suspended. It also called for the Information Regulator to play a bigger oversight role.
Source: this article is based on reporting by businessnewssouthafrica.co.za. Image: businessnewssouthafrica.co.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.