The South African Post Office (SAPO) has urged SASSA grant recipients who use SAPO branches to withdraw their grants to use other channels during the month of May.
SAPO made the announcement in a statement on Thursday (5 May), citing “insufficient cash” at some of its branches.
SRD grant and cash point users affected
“The SA Post Office advises SASSA beneficiaries who plan to withdraw their grant during May 2022, and who normally do their transaction at a Post Office branch, to consider withdrawing their grant at a supermarket or ATM,” the entity said.
“Some Post Office branches will have insufficient cash, although it should be noted that the majority of SASSA grants for the month of May have been paid.”
As is the established practice, recipients of normal grants were the first to have their grants available between 3 and 5 May 2022.
“The arrangement therefore applies to remaining beneficiaries who receive the R350 SRD (social relief of distress) grant and beneficiaries who use cash pay points,” SAPO said.
The Post Office publishes payment dates for SRD grant beneficiaries based on the last three digits of their ID numbers. This is aimed at reducing the risk of congestion at its branches because beneficiaries will only visit SAPO on their designated days.
Withdrawals at supermarkets, ATMs
“For beneficiaries who use the gold SASSA card issued by Postbank, withdrawals at a supermarket are free of any commission,” SAPO advised.
“They can also swipe the card to pay for any purchases, and all swipes are free of commission. A beneficiary therefore receives the full value of the grant when using a supermarket, down to the last cent.
“The gold card can be used at all ATMs in South Africa. Where an ATM is used, the bank owning the ATM will levy a fee.”
The Post Office did not reveal why some of its branches would have insufficient cash. However, in a recent written reply to a question in Parliament, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said that of the 10,563,123 approved SRD grant beneficiaries, 42 percent collect their grants through SAPO while 58 percent receive it in their personal bank accounts.
This means that the number of SRD grant recipients who visit SAPO branches across South Africa is well over 4 million every month, translating to a significant amount of cash needed at the branches.