The gold card glitch: Can Sassa grant recipients bank on payment in May?

The clock is ticking for South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grant beneficiaries to upgrade their gold cards to the new Postbank black cards before 20 March.

During a social development oversight committee meeting in the Western Cape legislature last week, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communication and Digital Technologies, Khusela Sangoni Diko, said Postbank made an undertaking that it would continue to swap gold cards “until the last person has been assisted”.

But until when, where and how will gold card holders still be able to access their Sassa grant payments?

Sassa grant payments in April and May for gold cardholders

With only 10 days to go before the deadline, The Citizen approached Postbank to get clarity on grant payments for Sassa gold cardholders in April and May.

Postbank head of communications Bongani Dikeo said that almost a million grant beneficiaries had migrated to the new Mzansi debit card by 3 March.

⁠”The announcement of the deadline seems to have been one of the important things that have had an impact on the response of beneficiaries, and we are thankful to them for heeding the call to replace their cards,” he added.

Sassa gold cards: What happens after 20 March?

Postbank urged beneficiaries to note that the 20 March deadline marks the date when the Sassa gold cards will stop working, and not the last day one can apply for the new card.

Sassa grant recipients could, however, still apply for and receive their Postbank black cards after the deadline.

Dikeo said that after 20 March, grant recipients who had not been able to migrate, would be able to collect their grants from the South African Post Office, as well as withdraw cash from retailers’ till points in April and May.

Migration to continue at replacement sites

Then, as a contingency measure, recipients would still be able to collect their new black cards until April this year. 

“The replacement of Sassa gold cards with Postbank black cards will continue in all the current card replacement sites, and Postbank is adding more sites,” he explained.

Post Office and mobile teams

Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi urged gold cardholders to try to make the deadline.

“The money will be in their accounts, but they’ll only be able to get it at the Post Office. But we don’t want people to go there because they will be ‘squashed’. They [Postbank] have also introduced something called cashless withdrawal that works like cash send or e-wallet,” said Letsatsi.⁠

⁠According to Dikeo, the Postbank and Sassa outreach’s mobile teams that have been issuing cards to beneficiaries in outlying and rural areas will continue to ensure that cards are issued to every beneficiary that has to be migrated.

Sassa gold card holders: How to access your grant payment in April and May

⁠Dikeo explained that Sassa gold card holders who may have missed the deadline will be paid through a choice of any of the following methods:

a) Beneficiaries will be able to get their grant payments using an ID at any of the 543 Post Office branches countrywide.
b) Alternatively, beneficiaries will be paid through an existing cardless payment method that Postbank already uses to pay Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries from the following retailers:

• Shoprite,
• Usave,
• Boxer,
• Spar,
• Pick n Pay, and
• Checkers.

According to him, these are already the primary places where most of the beneficiaries paid by Postbank are already collecting their payments.

Postbank black cards issued at grant collection points

“As the primary aim is that they should all have a black card, beneficiaries will be encouraged to replace their cards in the period when they are using these alternative payment methods,

“So, cards will continue to be issued in these places even during the payment periods when they have come to collect their money,” Dikeo pointed out.

How to get your Postbank black card

1. Dial *120*218*3# from your cellphone
2. Select option 1
3. Choose your province

A list of locations issuing new cards will be provided.

The retail route

“Grant beneficiaries can replace their Sassa gold cards with the Postbank black cards where they normally collect their grant payments such as retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Boxer Stores nationwide and Gauteng Pick n Pay stores,” Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe stated previously.

Requirements

• A valid ID or temporary ID.
• If collecting on behalf of someone, bring the Sassa proxy letter.
• Asylum seekers need to bring their official Sassa approval letter.

The card issuance process is free of charge, and swapping to the new card won’t affect beneficiaries’ grant payments.

Eligibility of foreign nationals

Foreign nationals are not yet eligible for the new black cards.

However, they can still access their grant money at any Post Office using their current documents after the gold cards stop working. To ensure a smooth transaction, they must bring the existing documents. 

• For further information, contact Postbank toll-free at 0800 53 54 55 or send an email to postbank.enquiries@postbank.co.za.

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