Social grant beneficiaries who fear not receiving their grants when their cards expire, have been assured by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) that this will not happen.
Sassa said the matter has been resolved by all parties concerned, namely Cash Paymaster Services (CPS), Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) and MasterCard.
Sassa said it can confirm that the official Sassa card issued to social grant beneficiaries will operate without any problem beyond the expiry date of December 31 2017 printed on it.
This means that the card will be accepted at all retailers irrespective of the expiry date printed on it. Sassa also reiterated that the Sassa card bearing the colours of the South African flag remains the only official card and cannot be changed for any other card.
Pearl Bengu, the chief operating officer of Sassa, said it has been agreed in their negotiations that Pasa will issue a notice to all retailers informing them that the Sassa card will still function irrespective of the expiry date printed on it.
Ms Bengu also assured beneficiaries that payment of their social grants will go ahead as usual.
Beneficiaries should make sure that they do not give their personal details or card details to strangers.
* Beneficiaries can call Sassa on 0800 60 10 11 for enquiries.
* On Monday, Sassa said grant beneficiaries would receive their grant payments for December from Tuesday November 28 from ATMs and other payment channels.
