Deadline to switch Sassa Gold Cards extended amid beneficiaries’ ‘deep concerns and frustrations’

17 Feb 2025

In what should come as a relief to pensioners and other South African Social Security Agency Gold Card holders, the agency has extended the deadline for migration to the Postbank Black Card to 20 March.

The deadline extension comes amid growing concerns that not all Gold Card holders will have migrated by the initial deadline of 28 February.

“We have listened to the deep concerns and frustrations from our social grant beneficiaries and we trust that this extension will provide much-needed time for grant recipients,” Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi and Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe said.

“We strongly encourage our beneficiaries to make sure that they change to the Postbank Black Card as soon as they can, and well ahead of the 20 March 2025 deadline,” they added.

Sassa said the card upgrade is essential for expiration or security reasons, as with any bank.

Users would not be charged for making the switch.

Beneficiaries who had not made the switch by 20 March would have to visit their nearest Postbank branches to access their Sassa grants.

Concerns raised by some organisations, including the Black Sash, include:

Massive network glitches affecting payments on the Gold Card;

Communication and access to Postbank card replacement sites; and

Non-payments on the Gold Card.

Black Sash said the extension was precisely what it had been calling for all along.

“We are very happy as Black Sash as it has been one of our main demands that the Gold Card phase-out be extended,” the organisation’s Oliver Meth said.

“And we do hope that this period of extension will give Sassa and Postbank enough time to ensure that there is a smooth transition that will not disadvantage our Sassa beneficiaries.” DM

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