Registering a new vehicle or changing its ownership just got a whole lot easier with the launch of a new online system in South Africa.
Developed in a collaboration between the Road Traffic Management Corporation and retail giant WeBuyCars, the online system seeks to give vehicle dealers and financial institutions an easy way to transact directly online without having to physically visit the registering authorities.
The system has already been extensively tested by WeBuyCars, prior to its official launch to the public on Tuesday, 22 August. Tech teams from both organisations worked together to create interface systems to allow dealers and banks to register vehicles and change ownership on the Natis system.
The RTMC says around 3.2 million such transactions are performed on the system each year, with dealers and financial institutions accounting for half of these transactions.
The organisation plans to further develop the system to allow members of the public to change vehicle ownership online, subject to certain strict requirements.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga commended WeBuyCars for their involvement in the project:
“You have shown patriotism and I call on other large dealerships and financial institutions to follow your good example and help us to improve service delivery in our country,” Chikunga said.
In the past, the retailer employed the services of an intermediary to handle vehicle registration and ownership changes. This procedure necessitated the completion of extensive paperwork and a visit to licensing authorities, where individuals had to queue in order to effect these changes.
This latest initiative by the RTMC follows the introduction of online vehicle licensing in 2022, and since then over 700,000 vehicle licences have been renewed on the platform, according to the organisation.