Gold SASSA cards to stop working after March deadline

SASSA has announced measures to address technical glitches as they extend the card upgrading deadline.

The old gold cards will no longer be functional after March 20th, in a move that affects over 3.5 million grant beneficiaries across South Africa.

SASSA spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi, has reassured the public that additional resources will be allocated to speed up the upgrading process, including forming partnerships with retailers like Spar.

“We’ve worked closely with Postbank, and together we’ve agreed to open more tellers. We’ll also ensure dedicated personnel are available to manage queues and that as many centres as possible remain open,” Letsatsi explains.

To further assist beneficiaries, SASSA will dispatch mobile offices to rural areas, ensuring that access to services remains as convenient as possible.

The government has confirmed that grant payments will continue as usual, even after the March 20th deadline. However, beneficiaries who don’t upgrade their cards will need to access funds at Post Office branches.

“After March 20th, beneficiaries will still be able to apply for and receive their Postbank Black Cards,” says the agency.

So far, over 700 000 beneficiaries have successfully upgraded to the Postbank Black Cards, making progress toward the full transition.