Question NW1481 to the Minister of Social Development
26 May 2023 - NW1481
Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development
(1)What number of (a) SA Social Security Agency still need to be replaced and (b) grant recipients have not received their grants due to the specified cards; (2) what measures have been put in place for rural areas where branches of the SA Post Offices have closed down and beneficiaries have to travel long distances in order to get their new gold cards?
Reply:
1. (a) The number of cards that expired are as follows :
- April 2023=838 420
- May 2023= 2 652 151
- June 2023= 1 524 963
(b) The expiry date on the cards have been extended to 31 December 2023, hence the current gold cards can still be used to access funds in the clients bank account. Beneficiaries are able to access their grants using the expired cards.
2. The expiry date on the cards have been extended to 31 December 2023 thus providing clients and the Postbank an additional 8 months to replace the cards.
The Postbank has also introduced a card less solution to enable clients to access funds in their bank accounts, thus reducing the dependency on a card. This cardless solution is a permanent solution that will enable beneficiaries to access payment at the participating retailers.
Postbank has also reached an agreement with certain merchants who will assist them with the issuing of cards. More information on this will be communicated by the Postbank in due course.
Clients are also able to use their own bank accounts to receive their social grant payments. SASSA has increased its front office capacity to accommodate an expected increase of clients to address this challenge.