How Home Affairs' new ID verification service is transforming verification processes

The Department of Home Affairs has successfully launched its new world-class identity verification service, which is already transforming the way government and private sector clients verify information against the National Population Register (NPR).

After years of under-pricing and underinvestment that left more than half of verification attempts failing, undermining essential services such as social grants and banking, the upgraded system now consistently delivers results in under one second, with an error rate below one percent.

The justice cluster, including the South African Social Security Administration (SASSA), South African Police Service (SAPS), and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, has been fully onboarded.

This cluster alone is now processing over 180,000 transactions daily, a dramatic improvement in efficiency and reliability.

Private sector users have also embraced the upgrade, with three major companies already transitioning. The new system remains free for government departments, while private users pay R10 for real-time verifications and just R1 for off-peak batch transactions.

One private user has already processed over one million records using the off-peak batch option, easing pressure on the real-time queue and contributing to a more stable NPR for everyone.

However, the Department acknowledged that some users were not fully prepared for the new system, despite months of public consultation, including a dedicated 30-day window that ended in May.

“This measure not only reflects Home Affairs’ commitment to responsibly managing the transition process to ensure adequate investment in maintaining the new, world-class NPR verification service for many years to come, but also confirms that the new system and fee structure are working as intended,” said Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber.

To support these clients, Home Affairs has introduced a temporary relief measure allowing users to have their costs for the period between 1 July and 30 September calculated retrospectively, based on optimised October usage. Any excess amounts paid will be credited back.

“For the first time, the meaningful price difference between real-time and cheaper off-peak verifications has incentivised private users to move as many transactions as possible out of the more expensive real-time queue,” Schreiber said.

“This addresses the long-standing overloading and abuse of the NPR, which is one of the key causes of ‘system offline’ failures at Home Affairs offices, at other government departments, and at private sector institutions that use this service.”

In one case, an insurer working with the Department discovered it could reduce its monthly death record verification costs from R9 to just R1 per record by selecting only the essential "death" field demonstrating the major savings possible through collaboration.

IOL News