MEDIA RELEASE, 13 February 2025 – We are deeply concerned about the ongoing challenges facing SASSA beneficiaries due to the phase-out of SASSA gold cards with Postbank Black card replacements. Despite the extension of the validity of the SASSA gold cards over the past few years and SASSA urging beneficiaries to move to bank cards, many beneficiaries have still held on to their SASSA gold card. The final extension of this card is due to end on 28 February 2025. Postbank has offered a replacement card to beneficiaries still wanting to retain the benefits of the SASSA gold card.
This replacement process was rolled out from September 2024 at various retailers with a phased – in approach of sites across the country.
Sadly, the replacement process has been plagued by several challenges which Black Sash and our partners have witnessed first-hand on the ground during the grant payment week in February 2025.
Findings on the ground:
- Communication and access to Postbank card replacement sites: sites that have been selected by Postbank do not necessarily reflect where SASSA card holders live and even accessing information to your ‘closest’ site has been plagued by inaccurate information on the USSD platform and even on social media. Some sites do not exist, and the retailers share that they are not aware that Postbank card replacements were supposed to be happening at their stores,
- Non payments on the SASSA SDA/gold cards. We found beneficiaries unclear about where their February grant payment was and were now being pushed to the Postbank Black card, without proper recourse addressing the February non-payment or explaining what would happen or should happen, if non-payment continued,
- Massive network glitches that always happen on grant pay days which force Postbank to have to turn away clients and ask them to return when the network is up and running. Beneficiaries who travel from far away do not have the necessary funds to return, except on the next grant pay day and may fall foul of the deadline to replace their cards,
- We also noted beneficiaries who had swapped over to the Postbank Black cards experiencing short payments on their grants and were unable to be assisted by the Postbank staff responsible for card Beneficiaries are now not aware of how to address the issue.
“Postbank and SASSA have failed to ensure a smooth transition, forcing beneficiaries to endure long queues, network glitches and being turned away without completing their card replacements, and uncertainty about how they will receive their grants going forward. We are concerned that hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries may not meet the 28 February deadline. This is a direct violation of their constitutional right to social assistance,” said Executive Director Rachel Bukasa.
Black Sash supports the demand from the Department of Social Development for the government to:
- Have a clear action plan from SASSA within 24 hours;
- The need for more service centers to improve accessibility, as well as the mobile roving units to reach rural areas and home visits for disabled and frail beneficiaries who cannot reach sites;
- Extend the validity of SASSA gold cards until a seamless transition is guaranteed, or viable alternatives that do not burden beneficiaries;
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Ensure efficient payment systems that work for all beneficiaries.
We will be raising our concerns and recommendations with Postbank with a view to ensuring a better service experience for social grant beneficiaries and that no one is left behind. Black Sash will work tirelessly to Make Human Rights Real for social grant beneficiaries.
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For media enquiries and interviews, contact Oliver Meth on 068 352 9045 or email oliver@blacksash.org.za
