Sassa grant card replacement deadline extended

FOLLOWING grave concern and much frustration among social grant beneficiaries, the Department of Social Development on Friday announced an extension to replace the Sassa gold card with the new Postbank black card.

Initially, beneficiaries had until 28 February to comply, however, in a joint statement between Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi and Minister of Social Development Nokuzola Tolashe, the department confirmed that the new deadline falls on 20 March.

ALSO READ: Social grant beneficiaries urged to replace gold Sassa cards now

“We strongly encourage our beneficiaries to make sure they change to the black Postbank card as soon as they can, and well ahead of the 20 March 2025 deadline,” reads the statement.

Furthermore, beneficiaries were advised that grant payments will continue as usual, even after the deadline.
“If beneficiaries haven’t exchanged their cards by then, their grants will still be paid, but they will need to visit their nearest Post Office branch to access their funds,” said the statement.

To ensure efficiency to beneficiaries, the departments are working in collaboration to add more human capacity, with retailers to increase the number of sites across the country.

“Mobile offices will also be dispatched to focus on rural areas and to ensure we assist as many people as possible. We will monitor the process closely and will receive daily updates as to how the process is going so we can respond quickly to any further issues that may arise,” said the statement.

“We are also working with community leaders and local authorities to share clear information and offer assistance where needed. Making sure beneficiaries are able to swap their old gold Sassa cards as easily as possible is our priority, and we will update the public regularly,” concluded the statement.

Don’t have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here:

HAVE YOUR SAY