Beneficiaries have until 20 March until their Sassa gold cards stop working. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Postbank held a press briefing on Monday to share progress updates on the ongoing card replacement process as the deadline approaches.
“We have actually reached the 1 million point in terms of the Sassa beneficiaries that we have swapped cards to. We are currently sitting 1.1 million beneficiaries,” said Postbank CEO, Nikki Mbengashe. Around 2.6 million beneficiaries use Postbank as their Sassa grant payment method, showing that 50% of beneficiaries have replaced their gold cards.
Sassa gold cards are being replaced due to them expiring and updates needing to be made to the card. The new black card will be more secure for grant payments.
Mbengashe says this progress shows that the systems in place are working and that in March so far, over 200 000 Sassa card replacements were completed.
After 20 March, Sassa gold cards will no longer work. Beneficiaries are urged to refrain from using the gold card after 20 March.
Your account number does not change. Your grant will still go into your bank account but the ability to access this bank account with the yellow card will cease as of 20 March.
Postbank’s CEO did however make it clear that they would continue issuing new cards after 20 March with an aim to increase the sites available for Sassa card replacements nationally.
As soon as the black card is issued to the beneficiary, the card will start working. There is no cost for card replacements with beneficiaries only needing to bring their ID along.
Sassa Grant Payments For April 2025
Mbengashe confirmed that Sassa grant payments for April 2025 will take place between 3 and 5 April.
We have worked very tirelessly to ensure that no beneficiary is left without access to their grant.
Postbank has worked with Post Offices and confirmed that after 20 March, beneficiaries without black cards are able to head to their nearest Post Office to collect their Sassa grants for April. Sassa grantholders will only need to bring their IDs along to gain access to their Sassa money.
“If someone deposits money into your account, it stays in that account and no one can access those monies except you,” explained the Postbank CEO.
Sassa’s Acting CEO, Themba Matlou, further emphasised that every month, over 19 million Sassa grant payments are made with 15% of these payments are made through Postbank.
We want to assure beneficiaries that post-20 March, everyone will get their money. There won’t be any beneficiary who will not receive their payment.
Sassa and Postbank have said that they are working on the issue of long queues by adding sites and more workers to assist with card replacements. These sites include selected Checkers, PicknPay, Boxer stores, USave and Spar stores.
To find your nearest card replacement location, dial *120*355# on your phone and the nearest site for you will pop up.
If beneficiaries are unable to collect their new Sassa card themselves, they should contact the call centre so that a home visit can be co-ordinated.
