Due to liquidity concerns, the contract between SAPO and SASSA for the payment of social grants was ceded to the Postbank in October 2022.
This was probably done just in time as SAPO is currently facing liquidation. The ceding of the contract, means that the liquidation – from a contractual perspective – will not impact the service agreement of clients, as a new entity (Postbank), which is solvent has taken responsibility for the contract.
However, Postbank was only given 3 months to prepare themselves for taking over the contract, and remains heavily reliant on SAPO for services – which are failing at present.
This over reliance on SAPO remains a concern for DSD and SASSA and we’ve been in constant engagement with the Postbank around alternatives to mitigate this challenge. These include:
Beneficiaries also have a choice to receive their social grants payment directly into own commercial bank account. More than 50% of SASSA clients utilise this option.
These options cover approximately 98.5% of our clients. The remaining 1.5% who live in far flung areas remains a challenge, and are still reliant on the cash pay point services provided by Postbank. Discussion are being held across government, led by the Presidency on a possible government wide solution to service these communities. In the meantime, the Postbank will continue running the cash paypoints that were previously run by SAPO.