The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has released a statement to set the record straight about renewing the Sassa Gold cards. According to Sassa, the Sassa Gold cards remain valid and acceptable on the national payment system.
Beneficiaries may continue to collect their grants from their usual paypoints using their cards. These are the paypoints that beneficiaries may use:
- ATMs
- Shoprite
- Checkers
- USave
- Boxer
- Pick n Pay
- OK
Messages on social media claiming that “grant recipients will not receive their grant payments in December if they do not change their cards” are false. Any changes in payment options will be communicated through official Sassa social media platforms.
Beneficiaries may also trust updates which are shared by Sassa officials and via the media. Grant recipients should not trust what is shared on personal social media accounts and voice notes from unknown people.
Sassa encourages people not to share these false social media posts via their accounts as it causes panic among the public. If individuals are unsure whether the information is correct, they should check the official Sassa social media platforms.
The Sassa Gold card provides beneficiaries with free transactions at ATMs and retail stores. The card also provides no bank charges for the first three transactions and protection from illegal deductions.
Beneficiaries are encouraged to report suspected fraudulent behaviour to the Sassa hotline. Here is the Sassa fraud hotline number: 0800601011.