SASSA gold card migration breaks though one million mark as deadline looms
SASSA and Postbank have reassured grant recipients that "nobody will be left without their grant money" as the migration from the gold to the black card comes to a close on March 20. Home visits can be arranged via SASSA for those who are bedridden.
WITH the deadline of Thursday, March 20, looming, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and Postbank have reassured social grant beneficiaries that they will have access to their money in April, despite the gold card no longer working.
Since September 2024, a campaign has been underway calling on grant recipients to swop their SASSA gold card to the black card. The initial deadline for the migration was February 28, however, amid public outcry the date was extended to March 20. Nikki Mbengashe, Postbank CEO, said the SASSA gold cards will stop working on March 20 and that the money will be paid into the accounts as usual, meaning recipients will have to go into Postbank to collect their grants. The next grant payment dates are April 3 to 5.
“We really want to emphasise that on March 20, the SASSA gold cards will no longer be working. We’re pleading with beneficiaries not to attempt to use this card post March 20 to access their grants,” said Mbengashe. “Their money will be paid into their accounts, which will remain the same, but you will have to go into the post office with your identity document (ID) to collect your grant. Nobody will take away your money, it will be deposited and will stay there until you collect it.”
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She added that since the start of the card swop campaign, they have broken through the one million mark. “Over one million beneficiaries have swopped successfully to the black card. As we speak, 1.1 million beneficiaries have been processed out of our nearly 3000 000 target. At least 46%, 450 000, was processed in the last month and a half. In March, 200 000 beneficiaries have completed the swop,” said Mbengashe.
The acting CEO of SASSA, Themba Matlou, clarified that there are 19 000 000 social grant beneficiaries being paid by the agency in SA and that 15% receive their payment via Postbank. He said extra sites and support have been added to assist with the Postbank swop. “This will ensure that the queues are managed sufficiently as there are still people queuing to do the swop. As SASSA we have also intervened by providing chairs and water, to ensure the dignity of our beneficiaries at the sites,” said Matlou.
There are 320 sites across SA, including Shoprite, Checkers, SPAR and Boxer where beneficiaries can swop from a gold to a black card. For those who are bedridden, the agency has made a contingency plan. All you have to do is call the SASSA call centre or local offices to arrange a home visit. “We are pleading with those registering for a home visit to provide a medical certificate, social worker letter, or clinic letter that clearly indicates that you are incapacitated as there are people abusing the system,” said Mbengashe.
The migration will continue post the March 20 deadline at SASSA offices.
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