The South African Postbank had taken a decision to suspend ATM withdrawals for gold card carrying Sassa grant beneficiaries only for this month. The transition to change to other payment channels hasn’t been easy for beneficiaries.
The South African Postbank has suspended ATM withdrawals for South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) grants for beneficiaries that use the gold Sassa card to make withdrawals.
According to Postbank, this decision was taken following an unusual activity being picked up in it’s systems and this move intends on curbing fraud.
As an interim plan, Sassa beneficiaries using the Postbank issued Sassa gold cards are requested to withdraw their Sassa grant payments at any retail outlet nationwide that provides the cashback functionality which includes Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer.
Some of the grant recipients have also shared that this is a difficult time for them as they have to wait in long queues, in retail stores that are full in capacity to withdraw their monies.
In an interview, one of the cash-based community small businesses, Silver Angel Confectionary Bakery have mentioned that they have also taken a hit as a majority of their consumers are elderly people who would come to the bakery to make cash purchases of bread.
Residents have also pointed out that loadsheddding is another contributing factor in making it difficult to withdraw their monies.
Another issue that was brought to the attention of the public, it is difficult to navigate the muddy ground following weeks of rain in the Gauteng province.
Postbank’s intention to halt bank ATM withdrawals for the month of December is to safeguard Sassa grant payments against fraud, however, this transition hasn’t been easy for grant recipients.
In initially stages of this transition, the bank had acknowledged that the change in payment channels will have a negative impact on social grant beneficiaries and other stakeholders, and the bank has since apologised for the inconvenience to Sassa grant beneficiaries while it has an ongoing investigation into the matter.
