Over two million social grant recipients are still required to switch from the SASSA Gold Card to the newly introduced Postbank Black Card, Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe revealed during her presentation on updates on the card replacement process to Parliament’s social development committee on Tuesday (18 February).
The government has extended the deadline for switching the Gold Card from 28 February to 20 March, allowing more time for beneficiaries to make the transition.
This comes as the transition has faced several challenges, including long travel distances to service points, extended waiting times, and frequent system outages.
Mbengashe said that to combat these issues, Postbank has partnered with the Spar Group, which will designate 200 of its stores as service sites across the country.
“We’ve negotiated with Spar because, although we have sites, the issue is people to man them. Training takes five days, and recruitment and vetting are required. We needed a partner who could provide people familiar with financial services to do the job on our behalf.”
She noted that Spar Group tellers, who are already trained in financial transactions, will undergo accelerated training—reducing the usual five-day training period to just two days through on-the-job learning with experienced tellers.
In addition, Postbank plans to increase the number of tellers at each site to further alleviate delays.
Furthermore, SASSA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Themba Matlou, acknowledged the communication challenges experienced during the rollout of the new system.
To ease the burden on beneficiaries, especially the elderly, SASSA has deployed two staff members per site and prioritized services for frail individuals.
The agency has also extended the hours of the Social Grant Payment System, which will now operate from 6:00 AM to 7:30 PM, including weekends, until April 2025.
“We have deployed two SASSA employees at each site to assist with managing queues, and to expedite services for older individuals and those who are frail. This extended operational time will allow us to process more beneficiaries more quickly,” said Matlou.
He assured the committee that all backlogs for changes in payment methods will be cleared before Friday, 21 February.
VOC News
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