Postbank has swapped over one million social grant beneficiaries from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) gold card to the new Postbank black card.

This was announced by Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe during a joint media briefing by Postbank and Sassa yesterday.

“We have achieved a significant milestone in our replacement of Sassa gold cards with Postbank black cards.  As of March 10, we successfully swapped over one million social grant beneficiaries from the Sassa gold card to the new, improved and more compliant Postbank black card,” Mbengashe said.

“To those who are yet to replace their Sassa gold card, we encourage you to head to a Postbank card replacement site to get your black card,” she said.

Postbank card replacement sites are located in selected stores at major retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay, Boxer and Spar. Beneficiaries can also dial *120*355# from a cellphone to find a nearby site.

Beneficiaries require a form of identification, either their RSA green barcoded ID, smart card ID or temporary ID.

The new cards are issued at no cost to beneficiaries.

Thursday’s deadline looms

All Sassa gold cards will stop working on Thursday.

Sassa beneficiaries will then no longer be able to use their Sassa gold card to make any transactions, even if they have funds in their account.

“Beneficiaries will not be able to use Sassa gold cards to buy or withdraw cash inside stores. Retailers will not accept the cards for any transactions, and any attempt will result in automatic system transaction declines.”

Beneficiaries will also not be able to use Sassa gold cards at ATMs.

Any funds available in Sassa gold cards, when the cards stop working on Thursday, will be stored safely in each beneficiary’s bank account.

The funds will be accessible for withdrawal through the Post Office withdrawal process; the retailer’s cardless payment method, if you have registered for it; or via the Postbank black card.

What happens after March 20?

Postbank will continue to replace Sassa gold cards with the new black cards until the end of June.

Postbank and Sassa assured social grant beneficiaries that social grant payments will not be interrupted.

All social grant beneficiaries will continue to be paid, including those who do not yet have their black card.

These grant beneficiaries can withdraw their grant money from the Post Office.

Post Office branch payments will be restricted to beneficiaries who do not have their black card, asylum seekers and Postbank green / Mzansi blue cards.

Those with black cards are urged to use ATMs and retailers to access their funds. – SAnews.gov.za

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