In the past few years, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) government agency has been working hand-in-hand with the South African Postal Office (Sapo) for social grant clients to access their funds on a monthly basis.
However, the contractual agreement between the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Post Office came to an end in 2022.
It is believed that the reason for this was due to Sapo not being able to cope with the lack of technical capacity and the burden of long queues.
Bank ATMs and retailers were handpicked for social grant beneficiaries to use them as an alternative to withdraw their funds.
A local retailer has great news for Sassa grant beneficiaries who want to say goodbye to long queues and payment mishaps.
In a statement, Shoprite’s Financial Services General Manager, Jean Olivier said:
Grant holders can easily switch their grant payments, free of charge to the Money Market Account.
According to Shoprite, its Money Market Account is South Africa’s lowest cost transactional banking account, with no monthly fees, and clients only pay a flat R5 fee for cash withdrawals.
Through this account, social grant recipients can use this account to send money, buy airtime/data, pay electricity, pay in-store and also for cash withdrawals.
Grant holders will need to follow these steps to open an account and switch their Sassa payments:
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Register:
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Dial *120*3534# OR
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WhatsApp 087 240 5709 OR
- visit the in-store Money Market counter OR
- download the Shoprite app.
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- Sign in & download your Bank Confirmation Letter.
- Download the SASSA form here or collect one at the Money Market counter in any Shoprite or Checkers supermarket.
- Take your printed Bank Confirmation Letter, completed SASSA switch form and original ID to your nearest SASSA office.
According to the local retailer, grant recipients will get up to R100 in Shoprite vouchers when their first Sassa grant of R800 or more, is paid into their Money Market Account.
Some of the Shoprite Money Market Account benefits include grant holders having full control over their money through SMS payment notifications and real-time balance enquiries on their phone.
Social grant clients also benefit by skipping long queues and high fees at bank ATMs by depositing and withdrawing cash at any of the more than 25 000 till points at Shoprite, Checkers and Usave supermarkets nationwide.
