The backlog regarding the payment of social grants to beneficiaries affected by Postbank's technical glitches has been cleared as of Tuesday. The issue, which had inconvenienced several beneficiaries, particularly holders of South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards, was resolved on September 6.
According to Dr Bongani Diako, spokesperson for Postbank, the glitches affected around 400,000 beneficiaries out of approximately 5.2 million Postbank-Sassa card users. As a result, these recipients were unable to make transactions across the country. The issue arose despite the state agency having already made payments into the beneficiaries' accounts.
During the period of the technical issues, many beneficiaries experienced problems withdrawing money from ATMs and shops, leading to widespread frustration and calls for assistance. This was particularly challenging for those in rural areas who had to travel long distances only to return home empty-handed.
On September 6, Postbank had announced that ATM and Post Office branch transactions were being addressed due to these technical issues that periodically impacted Sassa social grants customers' ability to execute withdrawals. However, some beneficiaries claimed they still hadn't received their grants even after this announcement.
In response to these claims and accusations of misinformation by Sassa, Dr Diako confirmed that all access to ATM Sassa grant transactions had been fully restored and that the funds had been processed back into the affected accounts. He noted that there were a few exceptions where some beneficiaries' money was not yet in their account, which they are currently addressing.
Social grants are a critical source of income for a significant portion of South Africa's population. According to Bridget Masango, DA shadow minister of Social Development, 44% of South Africa's 60.6 million people rely on social grants as their main source of income. Sassa reportedly distributes permanent social grants to more than 18 million people in the country every month.
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