Postbank urges 280,000 SASSA gold-card holders to switch to Black Cards before Aug 31

More than 280,000 South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grant beneficiaries who still use SASSA Gold Cards must replace them with Postbank Black Cards by 31 August to avoid potential disruption to their grant payments, according to IOL.

What Postbank says

According to IOL, Postbank Chief Commercial Officer Thami Cele said more than 1.5 million beneficiaries have already switched to the Postbank Black Card, leaving between 250,000 and 280,000 people yet to make the change.

According to IOL, Cele urged beneficiaries who still hold SASSA Gold Cards to replace them as soon as possible and warned that waiting until the last minute could disrupt access to grant payments.

Call to act now

In an interview reported by IOL, Cele noted continued delays by some beneficiaries who keep using their existing cards while they still work. He told radio listeners:

“They must come now. We have been communicating with them since the beginning of the year, not only through radio, TV, but also directly with SMSes, calling upon them to come in their numbers, not to leave it to the last minute,”

According to IOL, Cele said Postbank has sufficient capacity to assist beneficiaries before the deadline but again urged people not to wait until the final day.

How to replace a card and check sites

The replacement process applies only to beneficiaries who still use SASSA Gold Cards to access their grants, including withdrawing cash or making purchases. According to IOL, beneficiaries can check the location of their nearest card replacement site by dialling *120*355# before leaving home.

According to IOL, Cele said beneficiaries do not need to visit a SASSA office before collecting their new cards and described the process as similar to replacing an expired bank card.

Timing and payments

According to IOL, SASSA has scheduled the August 2026 social grant payments as follows:

• Older Persons Grants: Tuesday, August 4, 2026
• Disability Grants: Wednesday, August 5, 2026
• Children’s Grants: Thursday, August 6, 2026

According to IOL, Cele advised beneficiaries who still need to switch to collect their new Postbank Black Cards before their next grant payment to avoid any disruption in accessing their money.