The Road Traffic Management Corporation, in collaboration with WeBuyCars, has unveiled a groundbreaking solution that enables the hassle-free online registration of motor vehicles and seamless transfer of ownership.
This innovative initiative has been meticulously crafted to offer a streamlined and user-friendly approach for motor vehicle dealers and financial institutions. By facilitating direct online interactions with Natis, the system eliminates the need for cumbersome paperwork and visits to registration authorities.
Months of meticulous development and rigorous testing alongside WeBuyCars have paved the way for this smooth and efficient introduction. This marks the latest stride in a series of technological enhancements within the Natis system, all aimed at elevating service delivery and simplifying stakeholder transactions.
Among these enhancements is the vehicle clearance interface, a pioneering feature designed to digitize police clearances through the South African Police Service. Additionally, the online Hire Purchase Interface (HPI) was implemented to assist the motor vehicle finance and insurance sector. This interface empowers industry players to verify crucial vehicle details and driving licenses of applicants, enhancing the accuracy of finance and insurance decisions.
The year 2022 witnessed the introduction of online vehicle licensing, offering vehicle owners unparalleled convenience by enabling 24/7 access to essential services from the comfort of their homes. A notable achievement was the renewal of over 708,330 vehicle licenses through the online platform since its launch.
As part of its ongoing commitment to harness technology and innovation for enhanced road traffic management, the RTMC has actively sought partnerships with private sector entities. Notably, WeBuyCars emerged as a key collaborator, entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the RTMC. This collaboration underscores the corporation’s determination to continuously improve efficiency across all realms of road traffic management.
Minister of Transport Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga has commended WeBuyCars for partnering with the Road Traffic Management Corporation in the development of the system.
“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,” she said.
Previously WeBuyCars used the services of a middleman to register and change ownership of vehicles. This process required the filling in of large amounts of forms and taking them to queue at licensing authorities to register and/or change ownership of vehicles. This exercise was not only costly but also opened an opportunity for corruption.
The innovation and technology teams from both organisations have worked tirelessly to develop interface systems to allow vehicle dealers and financial institutions to conduct online vehicle registration and change of ownership transactions on the Natis. The system was tested over a couple of months and is now operational.
A total of 3.2 million vehicle registration and change of ownership transactions are conducted on Natis annually and it is estimated that 50% of these are conducted by large institutions such as dealers and financial institutions.
The RTMC is working on further enhancements to allow private individuals to conduct online vehicle registration and change of ownership subject to strict requirements.
Faan van der Walt, CEO of WBC, adds: “WBC is delighted to be partnering with RTMC in this initiative and we look forward to providing our customers with a more streamlined and effective method of transacting. WeBuyCars is built on a technology platform and given the RTMC is working on more enhancements, we are always ready to provide assistance where we can.”
