Pensioners around the Western Cape are anxious about their Sassa payouts after Postbank said it has been experiencing glitches since Tuesday.
Pensioners were either turned away from retail stores, receiving declined slippies from banks, or told they had insufficient funds when trying to withdraw their monies.
Following the chaos, Sassa confirmed that clients using the Sassa Postbank Gold Card could not make withdrawals or transact at ATMs and various retailers, other than Postbank Points of Sale, even though the agency had made funds available.
Postbank has since issued an apology for the inconvenience and said the issue, caused by a technical glitch, is being resolved.
Charlotte Claasen, 84, said she stood in a line on Tuesday for over three hours waiting to withdraw her money at a retail store in Mitchells Plain.
“We stood and as we got closer, a lady came out and said their system is offline. She asked us to bring our IDs, cellphones and Sassa Gold Card, but some of us didn’t have all these things on us so we left, hoping to get our money [yesterday],” Charlotte explained.
Pauline Malgas, 69, walked to the bank to get her pension but her transaction was also declined.
“I thought maybe there is a problem with the bank, so I borrowed money to travel to a store and there a man said his account showed insufficient funds; when I came to the front they also told me there is no money,” she explained.
Postbank spokesperson Dr Bongani Diako said pensioners should be able to withdraw their grant geld from ATMs and the Post Office going forward, while the problem with retailers is still being addressed.
Those that have received “insufficient funds” slippies will also have their money back soon”, Diako added.
“It is anticipated that the funds will be reversed into all beneficiaries’ accounts approximately in the next 24 hours,” Diako said.