Sassa says sorry to grant beneficiaries

Sassa has issued an apology for challenges faced by social grant recipients regarding the replacement of their expired gold cards.

These gold cards are issued by Postbank to enable beneficiaries to collect their grants from ATMs, Post Office branches, retailers, and Cash Pay Points (CPP).

KZN Sassa spokesperson Sandy Godlwana said, according to the law, all Visa and MasterCards expire every five years.

“We have 5.9 million grant beneficiaries who use Sassa gold cards. The majority of these cards will expire at the end of June,” she said.

“We urge all beneficiaries to check the expiry date of their cards. All client payments will be processed as normal, and funds will be safely stored in the clients’ accounts.

“To avoid non-access to these funds in the accounts, recipients have the option to either replace the Sassa gold card at the identified SA Post Office branches or alternative avenue provided by Postbank, a participating retailer, or make use of the cardless withdrawal option provided by Postbank.”

Godlwana added that beneficiaries are also allowed to use the services of another bank.

“That will need a client to request a change of payment method at their nearest Sassa office or Postbank.

“Those who want to get their social grant payments through their personal bank account must bring proof of bank account received from the bank, or three months’ bank statement that depicts the personal details of the client, such as names and bank accounts, and their ID book,” she said.

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