South Africa: Deadline for Sassa Card Transition Extended to 20 March 2025

14 February 2025
SAnews.gov.za (Tshwane)

The deadline for South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) beneficiaries to swop their SASSA Gold Card for the Postbank Black Card has been extended from 28 February to 20 March 2025.

This was announced on Friday by the Ministers of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, and Social Development, Nokuzola Tolashe, in a joint press release.

"We have listened to the deep concerns and frustrations from our social grant beneficiaries and we trust that this extension will provide much needed time for grant recipients.

"We strongly encourage our beneficiaries to make sure that they change to the Postbank Black Card as soon as they can, and well ahead of the 20 March 2025 deadline," the Ministers said.

They emphasised that grant payments will continue as per usual, even after the 20th of March deadline.

If beneficiaries have not exchanged their cards by then, their grants will still be paid, but they will need to visit their nearest Post Office branch to access their funds.

To make sure that beneficiaries are assisted in swopping their cards as efficiently as possible, the two departments and entities are working together to add more human capacity and are working with retailers to increase the number of sites across the country.

Mobile offices will also be dispatched to rural areas to ensure as many people are assisted as possible.

"We will monitor the process closely and will receive daily updates as to how the process is going so that we are able to respond quickly to any further issues that may arise.

"Furthermore, the 20th of March deadline marks the date when the SASSA Gold Cards will stop working, not the last day to apply for the new card. After the 20th of March, beneficiaries will still be able to apply for and receive their Postbank Black Cards," the Ministers said.

The two departments are also working with community leaders and local authorities to share clear information and offer assistance where needed.

"Making sure that beneficiaries are able to swop their old gold SASSA cards as easily as possible is our priority and we will update the public regularly," the statement read.

Read the original article on SAnews.gov.za.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 SAnews.gov.za. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.