Landmark agreement struck between Sassa and SAPO
Minister in the Presidency and Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Social Security, Jeff Radebe has confirmed that an agreement has been struck between South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the South African Post Office (SAPO).
The newly adopted hybrid payment model aims to be implemented by 1 April 2018.
Radebe says the main objective of the system is to increase the role of banks and merchants and decrease cash payments.
The IMC is overseeing the implementation of the Constitutional Court directives which ordered Sassa and SAPO to deliver a comprehensive plan detailing how it will pay more than 17 million grant recipients.
Radebe says grant payments will be issued through a channel of the recipients' choice.
"Grant payments will be issued through a channel of the beneficiaries' choice, which could be via a bank account, Post Bank of SAPO countrywide, or merchants including village banks and spaza shops that are legally registered, South African owned and operated.
"The plan includes contingency to protect grant beneficiaries from being bombarded with private sector marketing for financial services they cannot afford," says Radebe.