Sapo gears for Sassa payments

The South African Post Office is set to take over the administration of cash payments to two million social grant beneficiaries when the contract of service provider Net1 UEPS’ subsidiary Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) expires in September.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has four months remaining to phase out CPS’s illegal contract, which was extended again in March by the Constitutional Court for a further six months.

Instead of using the six-month grace period to find another service provider, Sassa has largely focused on a clean-up process after former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini left the agency in ruins.

New Minister Susan Shabangu said plans are afoot to reduce the number of beneficiaries who access their cash grants at CPS-run pay points and transfer them to the SA Post Office system by August 31.

The said two million beneficiaries do not have bank accounts but access their grants in a physical cash format using their Sassa-Grindrod Bank branded cards at CPS’s vehicles.

After their transfer, Shabangu said beneficiaries will be issued with SA Post Office-Sassa branded cards that they can use to withdraw their grants over the counter at 856 SA Post Office branches and merchants of agents, and ATMs run by commercial banks.

Cash Paymaster Services has complained about SA Social Security Agency’s migration strategy, saying it has not been privy to information regarding how many beneficiaries will be reduced from its pay points.