No more social grant payments at Post Offices

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and Postbank recently announced that they plan to stop Post Office branch grant payments and Cash Payment Points (CPPs) by March 31, 2024.

In a recent statement, KZN SASSA spokesperson, Sandy Godlwana said as part of a broader strategy to improve the quality of cash withdrawal services for all social grant recipients, physical and cash withdrawal of social grants inside Post Offices will be phased out.

Godlwana said the phasing-out process will be implemented in a staggered manner starting in January 2024, saying that it is planned that by March 31, 2024, all CPPs and Post Office branch grant payments would have stopped.

She said SASSA Gold Card social grant recipients using CPPs and Post Office branches must now use those cards at any place that accepts a bank card.

“This includes making purchases at any retailer that has a point of sale to swipe for goods, or withdrawing funds from any retailer that provides a cashback functionality, counting using the existing Postbank cash withdrawals channels in the form of any bank ATM, or any of the five partner retailers that include Boxer, Pick n Pay, Spar, Shoprite, Usave and Checkers,” she said, adding that the decision to transition away from cash distribution at CPPs was announced in 2018 and it’s grounded in a commitment to improving overall customer experience.
Godlwana said factors such as escalating cash-in-transit heists, unfavourable conditions at some of the CPP sites, and the closure and capacity challenges at many Post Offices drove the move.

She said by migrating beneficiaries to the other National Payment System (NPS) access channels, they are solving the challenges proactively.

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