South Africa upgrades biometric verification system for critical public services, increases fees

The Department of Home Affairs of South Africa (DHA) has announced the completion of an upgrade which addresses major inefficiencies in its biometric verification system for access to essential public services.

In the announcement dated March 24, the DHA said the “comprehensive upgrade” to the system is central to the country’s national security architecture.

It explained that it is the system that facilitates face and fingerprint biometric verification, against the National Population Register, for people seeking services ranging from the National Treasury to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), and institutions in the financial sector.

Authorities say the upgrade means that such biometric verification will henceforth be faster, more secure and accurate given that failure rates with the system before now often went up to 50 percent.

The DHA confirmed that tests on the system show it is not only capable of dramatically faster performance, but that it now delivers an error rate of well below one percent.

“The Department is ready to roll out access to the upgraded verification service to all our valued clients across the public and private sectors,” the statement indicates.

New biometric verification fees from April 1

As part of measures to maintain the upgraded system, the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, has directed a readjustment of fees for some users of the verification platform, according to the announcement.

It mentions that in a bid to better run and maintain the National Population Register that sits at the heart of the country’s national security and economy, fees for the use of the Home Affairs digital verification service by private sector companies will increase for the first time in over a decade, with effect from April 1, 2025.

Public sector users of the platform will not be affected by the fees which the announcement doesn’t mention.

Commenting on the verification system upgrade, Schreiber said: “The rollout of a reliable, efficient and secure verification service supports both the public and private sectors to improve service delivery. This marks the most significant upgrade to the Home Affairs verification service since it was launched, and will dramatically reduce waiting times whenever a client needs to verify their identity with the Department to obtain a social grant or open a bank account.”

“The upgrade is also of immense importance to supporting private sector economic growth. When this vital Home Affairs system is down, slow, or littered with errors, it negatively impacts upon the ability of banks, insurance companies and other financial service providers to verify clients and conduct business.”

He added: “This investment in our population register is not only overdue, but also important for delivering on the vision for digital ID, as outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address, as a secure and efficient population register forms the cornerstone of digital ID. The launch of the reformed verification system is further proof of the progress that Home Affairs is making on our journey of digital transformation to deliver dignity for all.”

The biometric verification system upgrade is in line with the DHA’s vision of being the leading institution in South Africa’s digital transformation drive, for which President Cyril Ramaphosa has also promised significant digital public infrastructure investment.

Schreiber said recently that they are seriously working on a plan to make sure South Africa has a fully-functional national digital ID system before the next national elections billed for 2029.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  civil registration  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  social security  |  South Africa