In today’s Sassa News – Some beneficiaries won’t be able to receive their Social Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 grant payment through their preferred method. This comes after the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) recently announced a new requirement to R350 grant. Sassa is responsible for sharing the Social Relief of Distress to over 7 million unemployed South Africans.

Over 7 millions of vulnerable South Africans depend on the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to survive every month. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is now facing heavy backlash from it’s beneficiaries after their latest announcement.

Some grant applicants were advised by Sassa not to choose the EFT payment method because their customer care unit in Mpumalanga was unable to process EFT payments.

“The EFT payment method requires smart phones with the corresponding apps for such transactions. The Customer Care unit in Mpumalanga has received numerous complaints from beneficiaries where they fail to process the EFT payment.”

Sassa explained.

According to Sassa, the suggestion should be severe as a caution to beneficiaries to choose a suitable method of payment to avoid any inconvenience and prevent delays in grant payments.

The DA’s social development spokeswoman Bridget Masango says Sassa should have thought about the accessibility issues before making the application process for the grant exclusively online.

All Sassa grants applicants can be applied at Sassa offices except for R350 grant which can only be done online by visiting the website.

“You cannot introduce an online-only application process and not ensure that all the Ts are crossed and Is are dotted for the people that may not even have their own cell phone, they will go and ask someone else to assist them to apply for this grant.”

Masango said.

The Sassa has called on clients to ensure that all the details they provide during the grant application process are correct. Any incorrect details will delay grants payments, SASS said spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi.

“We have also picked up that people tend to give us that cell number which might be wrong with one digit so it makes you look as if it’s not the rightful owner of the cell phone”.

Lestsatsi said

The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) has confirmed SARS as a funding partner for social grants, in an attempt to alleviate delays in grant payments. More specifically, Sassa stated that delays in the payment of social grants have been further compounded by beneficiaries changing their banking details.

In order to validate the updated banking details of a grant applicant, Sassa will run an additional verification check with banks to check if a person exceeds the grant income threshold.

Click  Here For All The Latest R350 Grant News