Cape Town - Social grant beneficiaries have been affected by yet another late payment, after the Postbank issued another apology for delayed payments.
“The Postbank wishes to convey a heartfelt apology to the social grants recipients who have been experiencing challenges with accessing their January 2023 payments for parts of the morning of January 6, 2023 due to system glitches,” said Postbank.
In December beneficiaries were also left in the same dilemma after Postbank said criminal elements attacking its network resulted in the suspension of the grants funds’ ATM channel, as the financial service provider said its “early alert system detecting unusual activities that demonstrated possible ATM fraud” called for swift action.
This glitch had affected close to half a million people with late payments.
According to Postbank, its system became unstable at about 6am on Friday, resulting in social grants beneficiaries using the Sassa/Postbank gold card experiencing challenges when performing transactions across the different National Payment System (NPS) access points such as ATMS, retailers and Post Office branches.
Social media saw frustrated beneficiaries ask when they would receive their money, with some saying their balances were incorrect, and others complaining about undue deductions.
“I was paid late December and January.
“I went to the bank then it declined. Luckily I was close to a shop so I could use the till point to get my money,” said mother of two, Anthea Olifant from Manenberg.
Another mother of two, from Athlone, who asked not to be named, said she was completely thrown off after the money due to her children was not only late but also showed a suspicious deduction.
“My daughter went to the bank on 6 January and the money was not in. Then when I went to look yesterday (January 7) I only received R855. “They took R100 off my children’s money,” she said. “That’s not right, I was supposed to get R950. “I need to buy school stationery and food. “How can they deduct money that is due to the children?”
Meanwhile, Postbank said its “systems glitches” had been resolved.
“We sincerely apologise to social grants beneficiaries that have been impacted.
“Postbank technical teams have been working around the clock to ensure that there is stability on the systems.”
Beneficiaries who have enquiries regarding the Sassa PostBank Powered Gold Card disbursement challenges can contact PostBank on 0800 535 455.
Cape Times