The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) issued a final reminder that the deadline to upgrade SASSA gold cards is on 28 February 2025. However, the South African government posted a media release today, 14 February, announcing that they have extended the deadline to 20 March 2025.
Why is the upgrade necessary?
Postbank is urging beneficiaries to act now in upgrading their cards to avoid the last-minute rush. The upgrade is free of charge.
SASSA is transitioning to a more secure and efficient payment system, and the new Postbank black cards are a crucial part of this modernisation. They are phasing out older cards to protect beneficiaries from potential fraud and to streamline the grant disbursement process.
Extended deadline after concerns raised
Since the announcement, the Western Cape Government has received numerous queries and complaints from across the province about the upgrade.
The Western Cape Department of Social Development tried the various contact details provided by SASSA and Postbank themselves and experienced great difficulties.
Monique Mortlock-Malgas from the Department stated that SASSA, Postbank, and the National Department of Social Development must urgently find a solution to ensure grant beneficiaries living in rural areas are also accommodated in the card transitioning process. She stated that more service points are needed.
According to the government’s press release the deadline for beneficiaries to upgrade their
gold SASSA cards to the black Postbank cards is now 20 March 2025. This is in response to the concerns raised by social grant beneficiaries.
Here is the full press release:
Are you a SASSA gold card holder? Have you upgraded your card?
Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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