Paseka Letsatsi, Sassa spokesperson
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has noted with concern the challenges faced by social grants recipients with regard to the replacement of their expired Sassa gold cards.
The Sassa gold card is issued by the Postbank, and it enables the grant recipients to transact using the card and PIN code within the national payment system at banks’ ATMs, SA Post Office branches, retailers and cash pay points. According to the law, all Visa and MasterCards expire after every five years.
Sassa currently has about 5.9 million social grants recipients who transact through the Sasssa gold cards, the majority of which will expire by June 2023.
Clients are urged to check the expiry date of their cards. All client payments will be processed as normal, and funds are safely stored in the client’s bank accounts.
To avoid non-access to these funds in the clients’ bank accounts, recipients have the option to either replace the Sassa gold card at the identified post office branches or alternative venue provided by Postbank, a participating retailer, or make use of the cardless withdrawal option provided by Postbank.
Alternatively, clients can also utilise the services of another bank. Due to this, clients will need to request a change of payment method at their nearest local office or alternative venue that Sassa will make available specifically for this project.
Social grants recipients who choose to get their social grants payment through their personal bank account must bring along the following documents to Sassa:
• Proof of a bank account, received from the bank, or three months of bank statements that show the personal details of the client such as names and bank accounts.
• Proof of identity.
These documents should be submitted to the nearest Sassa office to mandate Sassa to pay the beneficiary social grant into the chosen personal bank account.
There is no limit as to how many times beneficiaries can change their method of payment as it is their right to do so – beneficiaries are advised to request the change of method of payment once in a month.
Sassa officials are always ready to assist grant recipients whenever there is a need to exercise their rights.
Sassa intends increasing its capacity to enable faster processing of the requests for change of method of payment and will be extending its office operating hours to accommodate any increase by clients.