The department of home affairs is urging South Africans to ditch their green barcoded IDs for smart ID cards.In recent months, there have been reports of stolen identities which include the arrest of two undocumented Mozambican nationals in connection with the manufacturing and selling of fake IDs at the home affairs office in Centurion, Pretoria. The matter lifted a lid on the alleged documents-for-cash scheme believed to be happening at some home affairs offices. Home affairs deputy minister Njabulo Nzuza explains why the move to smart IDs is safer and more secure for citizens. Sowetan: What are security concerns associated with green IDs?Nzuza: The green barcoded ID is not secure because it is susceptible to fraud. The person who steals an identity would go to a shop, take your ID book and open an account. The person would also borrow money from loan sharks. Previously, you would have a picture swap when it comes to identity documents [but] if you have a smart ID, no one can swap your face because it is captured centrally by us and it goes with the capturing of your biometrics.Sowetan: Is there a timeline on when green ID books will be phased out?Nzuza: We have not issued a timeline but we are in the process of planning to phase them out. What we intend on doing is to stop issuing them. Sowetan: What benefits do smart IDs offer over the green barcoded ones?Nzuza: It is secure and easily adaptable to the new technology that the department is moving towards. For those who do not have a smart ID card, it [will] become a problem for you to access benefits that are going to come in the future as we are building digital-first home affairs.SRD beneficiaries need an ID card, not a green ID book, to complete verification process. Sowetan: Is this extended to permanent residents? Nzuza: We have a plan in place for permanent residents and naturalised citizens to make sure that they also get smart ID cards. I will just have to check how far the process is now but there is a decision that [they] must move to smart ID cards.Sowetan: Do banks still offer this service? Nzuza: We are in partnership with the banks, in fact, we are looking at growing our footprint with the banks, to have more banks enrolled so that we can reach out to more people without having to build structures of home affairs.