Pretoria: The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and Postbank have announced that a home visits program is underway for bedridden SASSA beneficiaries to replace their SASSA Gold Cards with Postbank Black Cards. This initiative aims to ensure that incapacitated beneficiaries continue to have access to their social grants through the new card system.

According to South African Government News Agency, Postbank CEO Nikki Mbengashe announced this development during a joint media briefing by Postbank and SASSA held on Monday in Pretoria. The home visits program involves SASSA and Postbank teams attending to beneficiaries at their places of residence, such as residential and nursing homes, to provide grant access enabling services.

Mbengashe emphasized that the home visits are available only for qualifying beneficiaries, with each request assessed on its merits against strict criteria. The minimum criteria for a home visit request include an illness rendering the beneficiary incapacitated in movement or an incapacitating disability. Requests must be accompanied by a note from a medical doctor, a social services worker, or a clinic's medical report confirming the illness and complete incapacitation.

Bookings for home visits must be made in advance, either directly through any SASSA local office or telephonically via the SASSA Customer Care Centre or the Postbank Call Centre. Bookings can be made by the beneficiary or someone close to them in terms of movement and support, without requiring any family relation. Beneficiary details, including ID number and residential address, are necessary for the booking process.

The program also facilitates the nomination of a trusted individual who can be given authority over the beneficiary's account by signing a Postbank Account Access Authority letter. Postbank and SASSA urge beneficiaries to request home visits only when genuinely necessary, meeting the set criteria, as unqualified requests will incur a R250 fine.

Mbengashe also cautioned beneficiaries against being misled into changing banks without full understanding, stating that the only replacement for the gold card is the Postbank Black Card. She reiterated that Postbank is the sole entity managing the card replacement process and advised beneficiaries to remain vigilant against any misinformation.