News Bulletin of 9 November 2025, 9am

South Africans will soon have more places to renew or apply for their Smart IDs and passports.
This follows an announcement by Standard Bank, confirming that additional bank branches offering these services are in the pipeline.
According to a report by BusinessTech, the bank plans to launch 20 additional branches equipped to handle Smart ID and passport applications by 2026.
This comes as a relief as the government plans to discontinue the green ID book, and has been expanding Smart ID card application points.

The City of Johannesburg recently hosted an Urban Management and Governance Workshop, bringing together stakeholders to address pressing urban challenges like urbanisation, spatial inequality, and declining CBD performance.
The event, held in partnership with SALGA, Gauteng COGTA, and other organisations, aimed to strengthen collaboration and find practical solutions.
Keynote speaker Dr Tanya Zack highlighted the inner city's potential as a "mega retail port" serving traders across southern Africa, stressing the need for improved safety, logistics, and cross-border trade partnerships.
Panellists discussed enhancing city governance through bottom-up planning, citizen ownership, and private-sector partnerships.

FNB has once again been named South Africa’s Best Digital Bank, achieving a top score of 73.34 in the annual SITEisfaction survey and ranking first in both mobile and internet banking.
Senior Manager Dineo Molaba credited the win to customer-centric innovation and digital excellence.
Molaba says with over seven-million digital customers and two-billion total logins, FNB continues investing in technology, AI, and personalised digital experiences:
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