NATIONAL NEWS - The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) will once again open its system for approved applicants to change their preferred method of payment for the special Covid-19 SRD grant.
Sassa CEO Totsie Memela said in a press release last week that a decision was made to address challenges some beneficiaries have experienced in accessing their special relief grant from post offices. Payment of the grant is quicker if paid directly into a bank account.
How to make the change
Beneficiaries can make the change on the Sassa website, during a window period from Monday 31 August to Sunday 06 September, 24 hours a day. "During this period, beneficiaries can change from receiving their grants at the post office to receiving them through their personal bank accounts. They may also change from one bank to another if they prefer to."
Beneficiaries must understand that they should not go to the post office before they have received the SMS notification that says funds are available. The SMS notification is used to limit the numbers of people reporting to a post office on a particular day and also to ensure that sufficient cash is available.
"When choosing a bank account, ensure that the account is in your name (Sassa cannot pay money for one person into an account held by another) and that the bank account is not closed," said Memela.
"The payment process is delayed if money is sent to a closed account, as Sassa has to wait for the funds to be returned before sending it to the post office for collection." Clients who update their details are advised to ensure that their information is captured correctly to avoid any further delays.
Cash transfer
Sassa also announced that clients who opted to receive their special Covid-19 SRD grant through cash transfer will indeed get their August 2020 payment through this preferred method.
They must ensure that the mobile numbers they provided to Sassa to receive payments, are registered in their own names and not names of other people such as relatives or neighbours. It is mandatory that the mobile number should have gone through the Rica process in order for payment to be done through this channel.
Any citizen who does not update their information during this window period, or who provides incorrect banking details, will have the payments for the remaining months sent through to the post office.
Responses to frequently asked questions about this relief grant can be found on the WhatsApp platform on 082 046 8553.
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