SASSA Gold Card Replacement Delay – valid until 31 December 2023
Updated on 3 May 2023: SASSA announced that grant recipients with expired gold cards can continue using their cards until 31 December 2023.
SASSA recipients frustrated with delay in issuing new Gold Cards
With many SASSA gold card recipients visiting post offices to renew their expired bank cards, after SASSA called for recipients with gold cards expiring in March 2023 to collect their new cards at Post Offices across the country), there has been much frustration for recipients who have still been unable to get a new gold card.
Many grant recipients have posted their frustrations on SASSA’s Facebook page – some were told they could not get a new gold card due to website issues, loadshedding or running out of cards. Many recipients stood in queues for hours, only to be told to come back another day, where again they would be disappointed and not receive their new card.
SASSA issues media statement apology to Gold Card holders
On 20 April 2023, SASSA announced their apology on their Facebook and Twitter pages.
They stated that SASSA Gold Cards are issued by the Postbank, which allows for grant recipients to transact using their card and PIN Code within the National Payment System (NPS). These cards can be used at ATMs, SAPO branches, retailers and Cash Pay Points (CPP). As with all VISA and MasterCards, they expire and must be renewed every 5 years.
According to their media statement, approximately 5.9 million SASSA social grants recipients use the gold card to transact and withdraw their money.
In a previous article, we stated the number of gold cards expiring, according to PostBank’s twitter page. There are over 159 000 gold cards expired in March 2023, over 860 000 expiring in April 2023, over 2.7 million expiring in May 2023 and over 1.8 million expiring in June 2023.
Recipients can change their grant payment method
Recipients that would like to change their grant payment option to the cardless withdrawal option provided by Postbank, must request a change of payment method at their nearest SASSA office.
Recipients that would like to change their grant payment option to be paid into their personal bank account, must take the following documents to their SASSA office:
- ID Document
- Proof of bank account
- 3 months bank statement that show the personal details of the client (names and bank accounts)
SASSA to increase capacity and operating hours
Furthermore, SASSA stated that they intend to increasing their capacity to allow for faster processing of the requests for change of method of payment. They also stated that they will be extending office operating hours to accommodate any increase by clients.
Collecting new SASSA Gold Card
Remember, you can only collect your new gold card in the month your card expires, so check the front of your card for the date. Cards expiring in March 2023 will read “03/23” on the front, while those expiring in April will read “04/23”.
Old Age Grant and Disability Grant recipients can collect their new gold card on a Monday or Tuesday, from their nearest post office. While Child Support Grants or any other grants recipients can collect on a Wednesday; Thursday; Friday or Saturday, from their nearest post office.
Don’t forget to take along your original ID document (green book or ID card), as well as your expired gold card.
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QUERIES AND CONTACT
For any further queries, please contact SASSA directly:
Contact the SASSA Toll Free Call centre on: 0800 60 10 11
Contact the SASSA Head Office on: 012 400 2322
Email SASSA Head Office at: Grantsenquiries@sassa.gov.za
Contact details of SASSA offices across the country: SASSA contact details