New way of accessing SASSA payout without your card

South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) beneficiaries who haven’t been able to collect their grants or whose gold cards have expired can breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that they can access their grants at any participating retailers.

This comes as Postbank launched a new method of paying grants that do not require a physical card. The move comes as some SASSA gold cards issued by Postbank were set to expire at the end of March, leaving a lot of beneficiaries in panic.

Also read: SASSA crushes rumours about its gold card

Beneficiaries can access their grants safely and for free at participating retailers like Shoprite, Usave, Boxer, Pick n Pay, and Boxer. To use this new method, beneficiaries need to bring their ID documents and use their SASSA/ gold card PIN.

Postbank spokesperson Bongani Dlako said at the till point, beneficiaries will be asked to validate their identity, enter their cell phone number and then their PIN to receive their payment, and can get assistance from cashiers.

Also read: Sassa beneficiaries beware of scammers

While this means beneficiaries will be exposed to a simpler method of withdrawing their payments, SASSA has announced changes in the payment schedule for May.

According to the agency, SASSA payment dates for May will be made on the following dates:

• Thursday, May 4 for old age grants;
• Friday, May 5 for disability grants
• Monday, May 8 for all other grants, including the children’s grant, will be paid from this date.

Meanwhile, SASSA released its payment schedule for the rest of the year and has stated that the first week of the month is reserved for the elderly, child, and disability grant payments.

The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant recipients and all other grants are then paid out after this. According to the agency, all other beneficiaries can still collect at South African Post Office branches except for the SRD recipients.