24 April 2025
Postbank has announced that the South African Social Security Agency’s (SASSA) beneficiaries can continue using their Gold Cards “until further notice”. Archive photo: Qaqamba Falithenjwa
SASSA Gold Cards will keep working after 31 May, Postbank announced on Thursday.
The Gold Card was initially set to expire on 28 February, but the deadline was then changed to 20 March. Less than a month ago, Postbank again moved the deadline to 31 May to allow more time to help beneficiaries switch to the Black Cards.
This came shortly after the South African Reserve Bank said it would allow the Gold Cards to keep working until all beneficiaries have swapped to the Black Card.
The card swap has been marred by difficulties. Hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries have had to travel long distances to reach a limited number of service points, endure lengthy queues for hours, and deal with frequent system failures.
Now Postbank, which has spent more than R200-million on the card swap, says the Gold Cards can be used “until further notice”. The cards will remain fully operational across all existing payment platforms, including ATMs, point-of-sale machines, and Postbank’s partner retail outlets.
Thursday’s announcement will come as a relief to grant recipients who have not yet changed to the new cards.
Before the switch started at the end of last year, Postbank paid grants to about 2.9-million beneficiaries every month. By April, Postbank spokesperson Bongani Diako said only 1.4-million people had switched to the new card. This means that more than a million people had not switched.
During the chaotic switch, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) encouraged beneficiaries to swap to private banks if they can.
But Postbank on Thursday said “Social grant beneficiaries are strongly advised to ignore any call that they must change banks, as this is unnecessary.”
Postbank has also temporarily stopped issuing new Black Cards at its sites. “This, however, has no impact on anyone who currently has a Postbank Black Card, as that card will continue to work as normal,” Postbank said.
Postbank Black Card distribution sites will remain open to provide other essential services. These include PIN resets, reissuing Black Cards in cases of loss or theft, and registering beneficiaries for cardless payment alternatives.
Black Sash spokesperson Oliver Meth welcomed the announcement but said clarity was needed on why Black Cards are no longer being issued.
He added that recurring system outages and unauthorised deductions remain a serious concern and urged both Postbank and SASSA to intensify their efforts to resolve them.