SASSA: Is the technical glitch related to the gold cards?
Social grant beneficiaries who use the Postbank issued SASSA gold cards could not access their funds due to a technical glitch.
Postbank says the technical glitch that affected SASSA social grant beneficiaries on Tuesday, 5 September is not related to the validity of the gold cards.
On Tuesday, pensioners who use the Postbank issued SASSA gold cards were stranded after they could not access their funds at ATMs and Post Office branches.
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SASSA TECHNICAL GLITCH RELATED TO THE VALIDITY OF GOLD CARDS?
As previously reported by The South African, the Payment Association of South Africa extended the validity of the Postbank issued SASSA gold cards to December 2023.
The extension enables social grant recipients to continue using their expired cards for social grant payment transactions at ATMs and merchant Point of Sale (POS) withdrawals and purchases without needing to collect new cards or switch to other banks.
Regarding the technical glitch that left pensioners stranded, Postbank spokesperson Dr Bongani Diako said it has been resolved for all ATM and Post Office branch transactions.
Diako added that their technical teams are working on restoring transactions inside retailers to full capacity as there are still intermittent challenges with transactions performed through this channel.
“Social grants recipients are advised that the technical challenges experienced with grant withdrawals since yesterday are an isolated incident that is not related to the validity of the Postbank SASSA gold cards. The cards remain valid as a means of accessing social grants payments despite the expiry date written on them until Postbank replaces,” he said.
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