Switch from SASSA Gold Card to Postbank Black Card 'going so much better' - Nikki Mbengashe, CEO
SASSA Gold Card holders have until 20 March to switch to the new Postbank Black Card.
Postbank has started introducing a new Black Card for SASSA beneficiaries. Picture supplied by SASSA
CapeTalk's John Maytham speaks to Nikki Mbengashe, CEO of Postbank.
Listen below:
SASSA Gold Card holders have until 20 March to switch to the new Postbank Black Card before the gold cards expire.
Gold Card holders can replace their cards at no cost at retailers such as selected Post Offices, Spar, Checkers, Usave, Boxer, Pick n Pay and Shoprite. Take your ID or temporary ID along to have your card changed.
Since the deadline was announced, reports from SASSA card holders trying to swap their gold cards to the new Postbank Black Card say making the change has not been easy.
Some cardholders report standing in queues for hours while others have slept over at selected venues to get their cards switched successfully.
Many have also reported experiencing technical difficulties with Postbank's network while trying to make the switch.
If you have a separate bank account with another financial provider than Postbank, you would have to switch to Postbank and get a Black Card to access your SASSA grant funds, explains Mbengashe.
However, Mbengashe says services have improved.
"From our side and those who have done oversight with us, the feedback we've gotten through the queues is good news... I think the system challenges we had, certainly in the Eastern Cape and KZN, were related mostly to the network, if it was not the network, it was the link to the Department of Home Affairs because we do biometrics for everyone. So, that's what we've sorted out and it's going so much better."
- Nikki Mbengashe, CEO - Postbank
"The yellow cards stop working on 20 March but we won't stop distributing the Black Cards... distribution will go as long as people do not have it."
- Nikki Mbengashe, CEO - Postbank
"The yellow card will stop working on 20 March but that doesn't mean your money disappears from your account. Your money is still in your account. Your bank account doesn't change, the only thing that changes is the card in which you access your account."
- Nikki Mbengashe, CEO - Postbank
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.
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How to replace SASSA Gold Cards (they expire on 28 February) with Postbank Black Cards