As South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) gold cards will cease to work today, thousands of beneficiaries say they facing mounting challenges to change to the new black Postbank cards.
While the initial deadline of February 28 to switch cards was changed to March 20 due to concerns raised by beneficiaries and civil society groups, Black Sash said it remains deeply concerned about the process.
They said many beneficiaries have been forced to travel long distances multiple times, at their own expense, just to make the card change while others complained that even after changing their cards, technical glitches had seen them unable to receive their pension grants.
Bayephi Meyiwa, 68, from uMlazi is one of many pensioners struggling with the transition.
“My husband, Lindinkosi Khoza, 67, is in a wheelchair after a stroke. He was told he had to switch from the Sassa gold card to the Postbank black card. We did that, but the money still didn’t come,” she told The Mercury.
She said when they complained, officials told them his ID was too old and needed to be replaced before he could receive his grant.
“That meant travelling from uMlazi to Isipingo, paying for Uber transport because of his wheelchair. After waiting three weeks, we went back, only to be told to wait another three weeks. When we finally got an SMS saying the ID was ready, we had no money left to go fetch it. Now we have to wait until I get my pension to fix this.”
For Yamela Nyawo, 72, from eSikhawini, said switching to the new card has caused major stress.
“I got paid the first month, but the second month, nothing came through. It hurt me to see everyone else getting their pension while I had nothing,” he said.
Nyawo supports 15 family members, mostly grandchildren.
“I had already planned what to buy, and the money I used to go to town was borrowed. I eventually got paid, but now I don’t trust that it won’t happen again. I am the only person bringing in money at home, and when it doesn’t come, it is terrible.”
The transition from the old SASSA gold cards to the new Postbank black cards has been riddled with challenges since its inception in September 2024.
According to Black Sash, an organisation that monitors social security issues, one of the biggest problems has been inadequate communication.
"Many beneficiaries have only learned about the change through word of mouth," said Evashnee Naidu, Black Sash’s regional manager.
"The official communication channels have failed to clearly inform people where to go for card replacements. The USSD system that was meant to provide this information has been unreliable, forcing beneficiaries to travel long distances, sometimes to locations that were not even offering card replacements."
She noted that in some cases, recipients arrived at designated sites only to find that staff were unaware of the process or that the system was down.
Even those who managed to secure their new Postbank black cards were not spared from frustration. Many reported network failures that prevented them from withdrawing their grants or even completing the card replacement process.
"Network glitches have been a major issue," Naidu said. "In some cases, the system would be offline for an entire grant payday cycle. Beneficiaries, who often travel long distances with borrowed money, were forced to return home empty handed."
According to Naidu, an estimated 1.4 million beneficiaries have still not transitioned to the new cards and it was unclear how they would access their grants.
"They are telling beneficiaries to go to operational post offices, but they have not provided a clear list of where these post offices are or whether they have the capacity to assist."
Another option suggested by Postbank is for beneficiaries to register for "cardless transactions" at retailers. However, Black Sash has found that many grant recipients do not know how to register or where to go for help.
Black Sash has also raised concerns about the treatment of elderly and disabled beneficiaries. Postbank has reportedly only provided home visits for 50 bedridden beneficiaries nationwide, a number that Naidu calls "extremely inadequate" given the size of South Africa’s elderly population.
Furthermore, Postbank has implemented a R250 penalty for those who request a home visit but do not meet its strict criteria—an approach Black Sash has condemned as "punitive and unfair."