Question NW2956 to the Minister of Social Development
04 October 2023 - NW2956
Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development
In light of the gold cards of the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) which are due to expire on 31 December 2023, what (a) total number of beneficiaries have (i) renewed and (ii) not yet renewed their SASSA cards and (b) measures have been put in place to ensure that all cards are renewed before the expiry date?
Reply:
a) The Postbank currently provides banking accounts and cards to approximately 5.3 million SASSA beneficiaries. All the cards that are affected by the December deadline will be replaced as part of the Card Replacement Project Plan. The number of beneficiaries fluctuates on a daily basis as many beneficiaries have opted to migrate to other banks.
i) and (ii) Postbank has not provided details at the time of responding to this question.
b) Postbank has a phased-in Card Replacement Project Plan as follows:
- Phase 1: will focuses on SASSA regions with the largest number of beneficiaries (KZN, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga), which account for 76% of the SASSA customer base.
- Phase 2: will focus on SASSA regions with the least number of beneficiaries (Western Cape, North West, Free State and Northern Cape), which account for 24% of the SASSA customer base
- As a contingency measure, Postbank is engaging with VISA and the South African Reserve Bank to extend the validity of cards as a contingency in the event cards cannot be distributed to all customers within the said deadline.