Pretoria – The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and Postbank are appealing to social grant beneficiaries to replace their SASSA Gold Cards with the new Postbank Black Cards.
Beneficiaries must replace their SASSA Gold Cards with the new Postbank Black Cards by 28 February 2025.
“Beneficiaries that fail to get Postbank Black Cards before the deadline are advised that they will not be able to access their SASSA grant payments with the SASSA Gold Cards,” warned SASSA and Postbank in a joint statement on Friday, (7 February 2025).
“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 started replacing SASSA Gold Cards with the new Postbank Black Cards in September 2024.
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 statement said.
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 28 February 2025, to avoid not being able to access their SASSA grant payments,” said Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe.
“All current SASSA Gold Cards in everyone’s possession will stop working on 28 February 2025, irrespective of the expiry date written on the card,”
“Please go to your nearest Postbank site, which is mainly located at one of the retailers near you that include Checkers, Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Usave, and Boxer, and get your Postbank Black Card to continue transacting.”
To get the new Postbank Black Cards, beneficiaries are only required to have a valid South African ID or a temporary ID. No card will be issued without these documents.
Ensuring that minimum documentation is required to get the new Postbank Black Cards is in line with SASSA and Postbank’s ongoing commitment to continuously improve the customer experience of all social grant beneficiaries.
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 new Postbank Black Cards works on all the National Payment System channels that include ATMs, retailer’s point-of-sale machines and any place that accepts a bank card immediately after being issued to a beneficiary, so there is no waiting period for when they can be used for transactions.
The new cards also have updated safety and card features.
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 and these include:
• One free card replacement per year
• 3 free withdrawals in stores per month
• 1 free monthly statement over the counter
SASSA and Postbank are committed to ensuring that no one is left behind, and all grant beneficiaries conveniently replace their cards.
To achieve this, Postbank has ensured that it selects the card replacement sites in line with the withdrawal preference patterns of the beneficiaries.
Grant beneficiaries can replace their SASSA Gold Cards with new Postbank Black Cards conveniently where they collect their grant payments, mainly at retailers that include Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Boxer nationwide, and Gauteng Pick n Pay stores.
“Our strategy for where we chose to issue our cards is based on where customers already get their grants now,” said Mbengashe.
“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.”
Postbank has also made it easy for beneficiaries to locate the nearest place in every province where they can collect their Postbank Black Cards.
All they need to do from the comfort of their homes is to use their cellphone and:
- Dial: *120*218*3#
- To continue, reply by pressing number: 1; and
- Reply with the number representing the province they live in.
SASSA and Postbank assure grant beneficiaries and the public that there will not be any interruptions in the payments of social grants.
“Our appeal to social grant beneficiaries is that they should not wait for the last minute, or for when their cards stop working,” said Themba Matlou, SASSA Acting CEO.
“They must get their Postbank Black Cards now at their nearby card replacement site as that will guarantee that they continue receiving their payments.”
Beneficiaries are advised to always be wary of criminal elements that often capitalise 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,” said Matlou.
Beneficiaries are also advised to be careful not to accept cards that look like Postbank Black Cards that are issued by other people and institutions under false pretenses.
For any further inquiries, beneficiaries can contact Postbank or SASSA Customer Care Centers at:
Postbank: 0800 53 54 55
SASSA: 0800 60 10 11
