In a significant setback for the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), state-owned bank Postbank has acknowledged that it will not meet its self-imposed deadline of March 20 for migrating millions of beneficiaries from the existing gold cards to the new black cards. This announcement follows alarming revelations from Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe, who informed Members of Parliament (MPs) that adequate plans for the replacement of the cards were lacking.
The urgency of the migration process unfolded dramatically as the initial deadline for the card exchange was set for February 28, revised amid growing chaos and anxiety across the country. By this initial cut-off, only a mere 31% of the estimated three million cards had been issued nationwide. In the Western Cape, the situation was even grimmer, with just 24% (77,932) beneficiaries receiving their new cards out of 322,919 eligible individuals.During a briefing to the social development portfolio committee in the Western Cape provincial legislature, Postbank executives, accompanied by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele, expressed their intention to continue facilitating grant payments despite the looming deadline.
Chief Operating Officer Eurekha Singh said, “Our contingency is to allow beneficiaries who have not swapped by 20 March to go to any South African Post Office or withdraw through the cardless process. Plans originally envisaged 236 distribution points across South Africa. However, initial implementation has seen only 20 active distribution points in the province, along with two mobile teams. “Singh announced that expansion efforts are already underway, with the number of sites expected to surpass 40 soon.Addressing challenges, she noted lower-than-anticipating recruitment for site staff and significant network issues with the Home Affairs system needed to verify beneficiary information.”
Measures to enhance service include increasing teller numbers at replacement sites and involvement from Spar Group to cover more remote areas. It was previously reported that services for approximately 11,000 beneficiaries in Grabouw had faced shortcomings.Minister Gungubele emphasised the urgency of transitioning away from the gold card, which the South African Reserve Bank had deemed defective for the payment system. He remarked, “For Postbank to be recognised by SARB as a fully-fledged bank, the only outstanding issue is the black card which can be used anywhere.”
He acknowledged that achieving the target of providing all beneficiaries with black cards by the end of March is no longer feasible and noted an alternative timeline spanning from March to June for the transition. He urged beneficiaries to understand that those who do not receive their black cards by the end of March will find their gold cards useless post-deadline.
“An alternative is that between March and June people will still access the institution to get their money using the cardless system,” Gungubele added, reflecting on the difficulties that have arisen throughout the project.
Social Development Minister Jaco Londt, following a meeting with Postbank management, reiterated the importance of the incremental expansion of service points across the province while expressing concerns regarding the slow pace of the migration.