Grant beneficiaries urged to switch to black cards

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The South African Social Security Agency(SASSA) has urged grant beneficiaries to replace their gold cards with the new Postbank black cards by 28 February 2025.

The agency warned that failure to switch before the deadline will lead to them not able to access their grant payments with the SASSA gold cards.

According to SASSA, after this deadline, gold cards will not function to withdraw cash from all ATMs and retailers and they will also not be allowed for transactions such balance enquiries, printing of statements or retail purchases as they will be blocked.

Postbank chief executive officer, Nikki Mbengashe, said they started replacing SASSA gold cards with the new Postbank black cards in September 2024.

Adding that hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries have already changed their cards and are accessing their grants using the Postbank black cards.

“Other beneficiaries are encouraged to collect their new Postbank black cards, as after this deadline, the SASSA gold cards will no longer be valid for any transactions.

“The SASSA grants payments that started in the week of 4 to 6 February 2025 will be the last payments that will be made with SASSA gold cards.

“We appeal to beneficiaries that have not yet switched to Postbank black cards to take the opportunity and get the new cards before the deadline of February 28, to avoid not being able to access their SASSA grant payments,” she remarked.

Mbengashe stated that all current SASSA gold cards in everyone’s possession will stop working on February 28, irrespective of the expiry date written on the card.

Same benefits for grant beneficiaries

She continued; “Getting the new Postbank black card is also free of charge for all beneficiaries, something that supports Postbank’s financial inclusion mandate and SASSA’s social welfare responsibilities.

“The great news for social grant beneficiaries is that they will continue enjoying the same benefits that they are getting from the gold cards when switching to the new Postbank black cards.

“Grant beneficiaries can replace their SASSA gold cards where they collect their grant payments as our strategy for where we chose to issue our cards is based on where customers already get their grants now.

“We have worked with these retailers because they are familiar to our customer and we endeavored to be as close as possible to where most beneficiaries are in each province”, Mbengashe explained.

SASSA Acting CEO, Themba Matlou, appealed to social grant beneficiaries to not wait for the last minute, or for when their cards stop working.

“They must get their Postbank black cards now at their nearby card replacement site as that will guarantee that they continue receiving their payments,” he added.

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Matlou advised beneficiaries to always be wary of criminal elements that often capitalize on busy cycles of economic activity to perpetrate scams.

“We ask them to be extra careful with their ID’s and always ensure that the person whom they hand their ID to is an authorized official, and they must always keep their cards safely in their purses and wallets when not using them.

“We also advise them to be careful not to accept cards that look like Postbank black cards that are issued by other people and institutions under false pretenses,” he concluded.