Recipients of social grants queue for hours under the scorching sun outside Pietermaritzburg's main post office.
- Postbank confirmed that the first phase of the closure of cash payment points for social grants has begun.
- Starting this month, recipients will no longer be able to withdraw cash from post office branches in cities and towns, or from branches with fewer than 50 recipients.
- However, civil society group Black Sash said it had not been contacted about the closure.
- For more financial news, visit the News24 Business front page..
The South African Post Office (SAPO) has begun closing cash payment points for social grant recipients, Postbank has confirmed.
Postbank spokesperson Bongani Diako said the February subsidy payment cycle (February 2 to February 24) will be the first time since the initial announcement in December last year that cash payments will be made at Post Office branches. He said this indicates that the first phase of point closures has begun.
Diaco said that as part of the first phase, cash payments will be discontinued in “urban areas”, branches in towns and cities, and branches with fewer than 50 recipients.
Read | Post Office to suspend cash payments of social grants
The process began in January this year and was scheduled to end in March.
Meanwhile, civil society group Black Sash said the closure of the CPP would incur significant costs as beneficiaries would be forced to shell out money to move to alternative pay points.
In December 2023, the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Postbank announced that the decision to close the CPP, first taken in 2018, was part of a strategy to reduce the likelihood of cash-in-transit theft and keep customers safe. He said that there is. Post office capacity issues.
More than 26 million South Africans rely on social grant payments.
At the time, Postbank and Sassa announced that CPP would be a He said beneficiaries will not be significantly affected by the closure. , Usave and Checkers, and ATMs.
Diaco said in an interview with News24 that the phase-out of CPP will be done in a “phased manner” and beneficiaries will be encouraged to use other NPS channels and pay for purchases by card starting March 5. said. However, she said post offices will continue to reset PINs and reissue cards.
However, Black Sash regional manager Evashnee Naidoo said there was significant confusion among beneficiaries regarding the closure of hundreds of CPPs.
“We have found that there is a lot of confusion among our beneficiaries regarding the closure. [of CPPs at post offices].They don't know where they can get subsidies now. […] Additional travel expenses will be incurred in the future. [to get to other NPS channels]. “ATM security is also an issue and retailers are starting to struggle with the number of beneficiaries coming in to make payments,” she said.
He also said there has been no communication from the government to support the closure of CPP and help beneficiaries cope with changes to the NPS channel.
Mr Naidoo said elderly and disabled grant beneficiaries are clinging to post office branches to withdraw their grant payments. This is because this option is often safe, reliable, and requires less technical literacy than an ATM.
In response, Diaco said Postbank and Sassa are carrying out a “national communications” program on the details of the CPP closure of post offices through social media platforms, radio announcements and community engagement. .
