Sassa Extends Gold Card Validity For Beneficiaries

Even if you have an expired gold card, you can still access your funds if you are a social grant beneficiary.The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) advised social grant beneficiaries whose Posbank gold cards were due to expire in March 2023 to renew their cards at their nearest Post Office.

Sassa Extends Gold Card Validity For Beneficiaries

It might have caused some panic among beneficiaries who could not renew their Sassa/Postbank gold cards on time.Payment Association of South Africa (PASA) has extended the validity period of expired Sassa/Postbank Gold Cards until 31 December 2023.

Postbank spokesperson Dr Bongani Diako explained in an interview

• This extension means that every social grant beneficiary will not worry about their card expiring, nor changing their method of payment because they will be able to access their social grant funds

Those who rely on social grants on a monthly basis will also benefit from this extension, Postbank hopes.Social grant recipients will continue to receive three free transactions each month with Sassa/Postbank Gold Cards, designed to protect them from past financial abuse.

The expired cards are functional for ATM withdrawals and merchant Point of Sale purchases without the need to collect new cards or switch banks, according to Sassa. PASA has written to all acquiring banks to ensure they are ready to accept expired Sassa/Postbank Gold Cards.

In addition to providing reissuing lost and stolen cards, Post Office branches will also facilitate payments for grant recipients who prefer biometric verification. A new Postbank social grants payments card will be launched in line with the card replacement programme to replace Sassa/Postbank Gold Cards before the end of December 2023. Starting from 4 May 2023, when Sassa grants payments commence, the recently introduced Postbank cardless method will still be available.