With fewer than five days left before the August 31 deadline, Postbank has issued a final appeal to nearly 80,000 social grant beneficiaries who have yet to migrate from SASSA gold cards to black cards.
Postbank said the deadline would not be extended and urged affected beneficiaries to complete the migration as soon as possible to avoid interruptions to their grant payment services.
More than 1.8 million beneficiaries have already migrated to black cards since the process began in 2025.
The latest phase of the migration, which started in April 2026, targeted about 420,000 beneficiaries. Postbank said fewer than 80,000 still needed to complete the process.
Most of those outstanding migrations are in KwaZulu-Natal, where about 20,000 beneficiaries still need to switch cards.
This is followed by the Western Cape with 17,000, the Eastern Cape with 15,000 and Gauteng with 14,000.
Postbank chief commercial officer Thami Cele said the bank wanted to ensure beneficiaries did not experience interruptions to payments on which many households depend.
“Our priority as a state-owned bank that is 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.
”We understand that grant payments are an important source of livelihood for many families, and we want to ensure that no one is unnecessarily inconvenienced; hence we are making this final special appeal to all remaining beneficiaries to complete their migration within the less than five-day period that is left,” Cele said.
Postbank said it had introduced additional operational measures at card replacement sites to accommodate increased demand during the final days of the migration.
Beneficiaries who have not yet switched cards can visit their nearest Postbank card replacement site, where they will be assisted with the process.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
Postbank said it had put additional operational measures in place across its card replacement sites to accommodate the expected increase in beneficiaries during the final days of the migration process.
“Social grant beneficiaries who have not yet migrated are therefore urged to visit their nearest card replacement site as soon as possible, where they will be assisted with completing the migration process,” Postbank said.
The bank also emphasised that beneficiaries who miss the August 31 deadline will still receive their social grant payments and that their accounts will remain active after the deadline.
However, affected beneficiaries will first have to complete their migration to a black card before they can access their funds.
Postbank said it would keep most of its card replacement sites open for a period after the deadline to assist beneficiaries who missed the August 31 cut-off.
“Social grant beneficiaries are strongly encouraged to complete their migration before the deadline to avoid disruption and the inconvenience associated with delayed access to services,” the bank said.
Where to switch cards
Beneficiaries can complete the migration at Postbank sites inside selected retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay, Boxer and Spar stores.
They can dial *120*355# from any cellphone to locate a nearby card migration site.
The migration process is free, and beneficiaries need only a valid ID or temporary ID.
Cards can be collected from any province, even if that is different to the province where a beneficiary’s SASSA grant was approved.
The black cards work immediately after they are issued, and beneficiaries do not need to visit a SASSA office or to complete any forms.
Any balance on a beneficiary’s gold card will automatically be carried over to the black card and become accessible.
For more information, beneficiaries can contact Postbank on 0800 5354 55.
Postbank said it remained committed to ensuring that beneficiaries continued receiving their grants safely, securely and without interruption.
