South Africa's mobile number has quietly become one of its most powerful identity credentials — it unlocks bank accounts, authorises payments, and authenticates users across messaging platforms. That same power has made it a prime target for organised crime. Now, the government wants to fix the system designed to secure it.
The country's mobile operators and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development are jointly proposing the first major overhaul of SIM registration since the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) introduced mandatory registration nearly two decades ago. The proposed reforms would replace the current document-based process with real-time identity verification against the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) database — the same standard banks already apply.
Why RICA Is No Longer Enough
Under the current RICA framework, buying a SIM card requires little more than presenting an identity document. The proposed system shifts the bar significantly: it must confirm that the person registering the SIM is the legitimate owner of that identity, not just someone in possession of the right paperwork.
Nomvuyiso Batyi, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Communications and Technology (ACT) — the telecoms industry body driving the reforms — told TechCabal on Friday that existing arrangements between the Department of Home Affairs and mobile network operators already make real-time checks possible.
"The enhanced verification measures operate through existing arrangements between the Department of Home Affairs and mobile network operators, enabling ACT members to verify customer identities against the DHA database," Batyi said.
She added that the industry reached a consensus that RICA had become outdated. "It was driven by the rapid increase in sophisticated digital fraud from around 2019 onwards," she said. The explosion of digital fraud and identity theft since then exposed gaps the original legislation simply was not built to address.
A Trail of Arrests Highlights the Stakes
The evidence of how badly the current system is being exploited is not abstract. In 2024, authorities arrested suspects in Free State Province accused of selling pre-registered — or pre-RICA'd — SIM cards. Then in 2025, police in KwaZulu-Natal Province arrested 48 people allegedly caught registering SIM cards using fraudulent identities.
These incidents are part of a broader pattern linking improperly registered SIM cards to financial fraud, money laundering, and organised crime networks. The problem gained even more urgency after South Africa's grey listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which put pressure on regulators and industry players to demonstrate tighter financial crime controls.
Legislative Changes on the Table
Beyond technical upgrades, ACT and the government are also pushing for formal changes to RICA itself. Batyi described the proposals as targeting both legislative and operational gaps.
"The proposals to the Department of Justice are in line with the industry-led solution in the framework agreement. They identify legislative and operational reforms that may further improve the effectiveness and enforceability of Section 40 of RICA," she said.
The reform process accelerated following an urgent meeting convened in March by Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, signalling that this is no longer just an industry conversation — it is a government priority.
Ripple Effects Beyond Telecoms
If the reforms succeed, their impact would stretch well past the telecoms sector. A more trustworthy mobile identity layer would directly reduce fraud on banking and fintech platforms, and give law enforcement sharper tools for investigating cybercrime — areas where South Africa's security challenges have been growing steadily.
For millions of South Africans whose financial lives run through a mobile number, that shift could be significant. The question now is how fast the government and industry can move from framework agreement to actual implementation.