Expired Sassa cards will still work until year-end

COMMUNITY members who receive grants from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) can continue to collect payments with expired cards until year-end. This is according to the Payment Association of South Africa (PASA) which extends the validity of expired SASSA/Postbank Gold Cards until December 31.

According to Postbank spokesperson Dr Bongani Diako, this means that social-grant recipients can continue using their expired cards for social-grant payment transactions at ATMs and merchant point-of-sale (POS) withdrawals, and purchases.

“PASA has sent correspondence to all acquiring banks to ensure they are ready to accept expired SASSA/Postbank Gold Cards, and Postbank has concluded its own preparations. [As of] the end of April, social-grant recipients can collect their grant payments at their usual collection points using their expired SASSA/Postbank Gold Cards, regardless of the expiry date,” he said.

Diako added that SASSA/Postbank Gold Cards are a tailored product designed to protect social-grant recipients from past financial abuse.

Also read: Fraudsters arrested with over R60k cash and 32 Sassa cards

“Post office branches will continue to provide re-issues of lost and stolen cards and facilitate payments for grant recipients who prefer using biometric verification. So if you have an expired SASSA/Postbank Gold Card, you can rest assured that you will still receive your grant money without any disruption until the end of 2023. This is great news for social-grant recipients, and we hope this extension brings much-needed relief to those who rely on these grants,” said Diako.

Postbank is still going to replace the SASSA/Postbank Gold Cards before the end of December 2023 in line with the directive of the South African Reserve Bank.
“A new Postbank social-grants payment card will be launched in line with the card-replacement programme. Social-grant recipients using the SASSA/Postbank Gold Card will be notified as to when to come forward to collect new cards in line with the card-replacement programme in the next few weeks,” added Diako.

The Postbank cardless method can be used via participating retailers, including Shoprite, Boxer, Pick ’n Pay, Usave, Checkers and OK as of May 4 when SASSA-grants payments commence.

Local grant application and collections

While community members will need to visit a SASSA branch to apply for a grant, grant payments are not made from SASSA facilities. Instead, there are several payment options available to clients, including PayPoint, ATM withdrawal, post office or selected retailers.

“We always encourage people to select their own payment method. If a client is unhappy with collecting their grant at a post office, they can change to the ATM method. We recommend they research the bank charges that may incur and select the cheapest option,” said SASSA’s senior manager for communication and marketing, Sandy Godlwana.

Also read: City announces availability of bookkeeping services at SMME Helpdesk

Catering to the disabled

According to Godlwana, SASSA caters to clients with disabilities, mobility impairments and pregnant women who are moved ahead of the queue.
“Queue marshals and customer-care officials also monitor lines and ensure clients are assisted,” said Godlwana.

Nobuhle Njapha, communications officer for the South African Post Office (SAPO), added that dignitary services for the SASSA beneficiaries were introduced at all SAPO branches, including the Overport Post Office.

“The branch has a ramp for wheelchair customers and chairs as well as benches. We have different systems for different services as some require fingerprints to do withdrawals. The SA Post Office encourages customers to withdraw their money at any day of the month after pension day to avoid long queues. We also have an option for you to withdraw for free at the merchants,” said Njapha.

For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.