The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Postbank have urged social grant beneficiaries to replace their Sassa gold cards with the new Postbank black cards by the end of the month.

The Sassa gold cards are being phased out and beneficiaries must switch to the black card to continue accessing their grants.

According to Postbank, Sassa started replacing gold cards with the new Postbank black cards in September last year, and last week’s payment cycle was the final to be made with the gold cards.

In a statement, Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe said the new card included biometric authentication and enhanced encryption for improved security and faster access to grant payments.

Ms Mbengashe said that beneficiaries who had not yet switched to Postbank black cards should do so before the deadline of Friday February 28 to avoid not being able to access their Sassa grant payments.

"All current Sassa gold cards in everyone’s possession will stop working on February 28, irrespective of the expiry date written on the card,” she said, adding that beneficiaries could get their new black cards at their nearest Checkers, Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Usave, and Boxer outlets.

Beneficiaries will need a need a temporary ID or a valid South African ID to obtain the new Postbank black cards. Ms Mbengashe said the new Postbank black card was free of charge for all beneficiaries.

“There is no waiting period for the new Postbank black cards to be utilised for transactions because they are compatible with all national payment system channels, including ATMs, retailer point-of-sale machines, and any location that takes a bank card as soon as it is issued to a beneficiary,” she said, adding that recipients would receive the same benefits as they had on the gold card with the new black card, which included three free in-store withdrawals per month, one free monthly statement over the counter, and one free card replacement annually.

To check where you can collect your new black card, dial 120*218*3#.

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