Final call for social grant beneficiaries: Migrate to black cards by August 31

With less than five days remaining until the August 31 deadline, Postbank has made a final plea to the remaining nearly 80,000 South African social grant beneficiaries who have not yet switched from their SASSA gold cards to black cards. The bank warned that no extension will be granted and urged affected individuals to complete the migration promptly to prevent disruptions in their grant payment services.

Since the migration process commenced in 2025, over 1.8 million beneficiaries have already transitioned to black cards. The latest phase of the migration, which began in April 2026, focused on approximately 420,000 beneficiaries. However, only around 80,000 remain to complete the process, with the majority concentrated in KwaZulu-Natal (20,000), the Western Cape (17,000), the Eastern Cape (15,000), and Gauteng (14,000).

Postbank's chief commercial officer, Thami Cele, emphasized the bank's commitment to ensuring beneficiaries do not face interruptions in their critical grant payments. "Our priority as a state-owned bank responsible for financial inclusion is to ensure that no single beneficiary experiences any interruptions to their grant payments that we know they deeply depend on," Cele stated.

"We understand the significance of grant payments for many families, and we are making this final special appeal to all remaining beneficiaries to complete their migration within the short time left."

The bank has enhanced operational measures at card replacement sites to handle the surge in demand during the final days of the migration. Beneficiaries can visit their nearest Postbank card replacement site for assistance with the process. Postbank also stressed that beneficiaries who miss the deadline will still receive their social grant payments, but they must first complete the migration to a black card to access their funds.

The bank will keep most card replacement sites open after the deadline to help those who missed the August 31 cut-off.

Beneficiaries can complete the migration at Postbank sites located in various retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay, Boxer, and Spar stores. They can also dial *120*355# from any cellphone to find the nearest card migration site. The migration process is free and requires only a valid ID or temporary ID. Once the black card is issued, beneficiaries can use it immediately without visiting a SASSA office or completing any additional forms.

Any remaining balance on the gold card will automatically transfer to the new black card. For further information, beneficiaries can contact Postbank at 0800 5354 55.