The South African Post Office has announced that it will stop offering cash payment services for
social grants at its branches by the end of March 2023.
Postbank spokesperson Bongani Diako confirmed that the Post Office will cease operating the cash
payment points that currently serve social grant beneficiaries inside Post Office branches across the
country. The phase-out of these services has already begun in some branches that serve less than 50
grant recipients.
Diako explained that grant beneficiaries will now need to withdraw their money through other
National Payment System (NPS) channels such as ATMs, retailers like Shoprite, and other approved
outlets. He emphasized that the Post Office will continue providing non-cash services to social grant
beneficiaries after the payment points close.
“Our strategy has been to directly engage beneficiaries over the past two months, informing them
about the changes and transitional arrangements,” said Diako. “We advise them where to access
alternative payment channels and when they should start using those, but we will certainly ramp up
communication about these changes.”
The Post Office’s contract to distribute social grants is set to end on 31 March 2023 when the new
SASSA card is rolled out nationally. This move to end cash payments aligns with the broader
transition.
