WeBuyCars (WBC) in partnership with the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) today launched a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership aimed at improving vehicle registration and change of ownership processes in South Africa.
The initiative is designed to create a “seamless, convenient, and efficient” method for vehicle dealers and financial institutions to transact directly online with Natis without the physical handling of documents and visits to registering authorities.
For you as the end user, this will have the benefit of reduced waiting times when buying a new ride or selling yours to a dealership that is part of the public-private partnership, which currently only includes WBC.
However, the RTMC has now opened up the platform to all motor vehicle dealers and financial service providers in the country which are invited to join as they please.
How it works
According to transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, the new online system is an expansion of the current Natis system that launched in 2022 and it has been in operation on a trial basis at WBC for quite some time to test its efficiency and allow the RTMC to identify areas of improvement.
Previously, vehicle dealers had to use the services of a middleman to register and change ownership of the thousands of vehicles that pass through their doors every day, requiring long periods of filling in large amounts of paperwork and standing in lengthy queues at licencing authorities, which was not only costly but also opened up an opportunity for corruption.
“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,” said Chikunga.
Now, the new online platform allows for secure interconnection between national and dealer systems, allowing the latter to seamlessly transact on Natis at all hours of the day, every day of the week, in order to process car registration and change of ownership applications for customers.
The result is that Natis maintains an accurate and up-to-date record of ownership for cars in the country, and data can be processed after hours and on weekends without delays and with fewer chances for corrupt acts.
“This partnership is a first of its kind and the RTMC intends it to be the first of many as it continues to seek solutions to make transacting on the Natis system seamless for both members of the public and business stakeholders,” said the minister.
Keyword: WeBuyCars and RTMC launch first-of-its-kind car registration system in South Africa