The end of the year is fast approaching, and it is becoming urgent to understand the process of how to renew your SASSA gold card before the expiry date. In March 2023, SASSA and Postbank announced that it was possible to continue using your expired SASSA card until 31 December 2023.
At that time, cardholder expiry dates ranged between March and June, and SASSA beneficiaries were reassured that their cards were still valid after they expired. The date extension would prevent a system backlog.
Processes like this one and the roll-out of the new Queue Management System will make the process of paying beneficiaries more convenient for all as new cards get issued.
Read more: Apply Online for a SASSA Grant.
Renew Your SASSA Gold Card or Open a Bank Account Before the Expiry Date
SASSA is urging social grant beneficiaries to stay on top of their SASSA gold card expiry to avoid an interruption in services. As a grant recipient, renewing your SASSA gold card or opening a bank account at an institution of your choice by the end of December is extremely important.
The Department of Social Development (DSD) will be working closely with Postbank and SASSA beneficiaries to ensure that all expired cards are renewed in time. In a parliamentary question and answer session, Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu said:
“The target is to ensure the renewal of cards that are due to expire at the end of December 2023 to avoid inconvenience.”
She was addressing concerns about the process of renewing SASSA cards after the expiry date and what the department’s plans are to ensure that thousands of beneficiaries do not run out of time to renew their gold cards.
For a comprehensive guide on SASSA payments, visit our article here.
The DSD and Postbank Have a Plan to Renew SASSA Gold Cards Before the Expiry Date
The minister explained that the Postbank team has created a SASSA card replacement distribution plan which will serve as a framework for the card replacement programme roll-out that will be initiated throughout the country.
She elaborated:
“The SASSA card replacement distribution plan seeks to mitigate such challenges and ensure timely information is shared with the public within a reasonable period of time. This will allow all beneficiaries enough time to collect their cards before 31 December 2023.”
Postbank plans to allocate about 2,000 employees to this task. And once it has concluded talks with the Reserve Bank and other stakeholders, it will announce the introduction of the new card. The replacement cards are expected to be black.
And in the same manner that expired cards were replaced mid-year, the new cards will be issued in stages.
The SD and Postbank will do everything they can to ensure that all beneficiaries receive their new cards before the expiry date of 31 December 2023.
Read more: SASSA Gold Card Expiry 2024 Update.