Beneficiaries who have missed the cut-off date to replace their gold Sassa cards now have a grace period, until Saturday 31 May, to make the move to ensure they receive their grants.
Postbank’s CEO, Nikki Mbengashe, announced, after the previous extended deadline of 20 March had come and gone. According to the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) the public has reached out to it for clarity on the extension as “people simply do not know what to believe anymore.”
This comes after the South African Security Agency (Sassa) announced that the gold version of the card, through which beneficiaries access their social grants, will need to be upgraded to a card from Postbank.
“In the course of April and May [beneficiaries] can either change to the Postbank black cards or change the payment method at a Sassa office to a bank of their choice.
“Those with gold cards have been asked not to go to a post office to withdraw their grants,” Western Cape for Social Development Jaco Londt emphasised.
He urged beneficiaries not to wait to make the switch from the gold card to Postbank’s black card.
Londt also confirmed he would meet with officials from both Sassa and Postbank in the hopes of getting the two entities to improve their public communication about the switch.
“We urge residents not to wait. Please make the change as soon as possible, to avoid added pressure on the system. We also urge Postbank to step up its card issuing tempo,” he said.
