NATIONAL NEWS - Sassa card holders who are still using the old Sassa card, which will be fully phased out by 30 September this year, should go swap their old card for a new one this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 23 and 24 June, at the dedicated venues.
Post Office (Sapo) and Sassa employees will be on duty in more than 20 dedicated card swap venues throughout the Western Cape on Saturday and Sunday from 08:00 to 13:00 in a card swap blitz.
Sapo invited Sassa beneficiaries to take advantage of these extended operating periods over weekends and swap their cards before end of August to avoid a last minute rush.
“We have deployed resources throughout the country to ensure that as many people as possible are put onto the new cards before the end of August. As a result, people should not leave it to the last minute to swap their cards. It takes approximately three minutes to be issued with a new card once you reach the card issue desk on site, so it is a very swift process," says Sapo chief operating officer, Lindiwe Kwele.
"The new Sassa card is issued by the Post Office’s Postbank and it has been specifically designed to prevent challenges with the illegal deductions that left many beneficiaries out of pocket in recent years. The only deductions that will be allowed on the new Sassa card will be for funeral policies on non-child grants, which should also not be more than 10% of the total grant."
The new Sassa card operates fully within the national payment systems and it has the following benefits:
- Three cash withdrawals from any participating merchant (such as Shoprite, Boxer, etc);
- One free over-the-counter cash at the Post Office;
- Free swipes (purchase payments) at all merchants;
- 1 free ATM balance enquiry per month.
SAPO says that beneficiaries will not be charged R10 per month, or any such ‘service fee’, when using the new Sassa card, so a person gets their grant in full.
“It is important for beneficiaries to know which card will cost how much, when exercising their choice. The new Sassa card is yellowish to gold in colour. You can still change to the new Sassa card even if you unwittingly accepted another card recently. It is really your choice," says Kwele.
Beneficiaries who receive their grants in a bank account do not need to do a card swap.
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