Recently, there have been some delays with the February R350 Social Relief of Distress grant payments. Here is what may have caused these delays.
According to the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), they are up to date with all assessments and payments for the Special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant. However, a few beneficiaries did not receive their payments due to challenges with their payment method.
Some of these payment method issues include:
- No payment method details were added to the application / provided by the beneficiary. They are required to upload their payment details.
- The payment method failed verification. This could be due to incorrect account details or due to the fact that the account does not belong directly to the beneficiary. This requires the beneficiary to either correct their details or supply a new payment method.
- The largest area of failed verifications is those who selected payments to their mobile number.
The agency has revealed that there is currently a challenge with the cash send verification process as the contract for it has expired. However, Sassa is in the process of following a formal procurement process.
Since many of the assessments failed due to the cell phone numbers provided not being RICA’d, beneficiaries are requested to choose a different payment method, such as providing their bank details. Those who were previously approved and paid via this specific module payment channel will continue to be paid through it.
A few beneficiaries have a “referred” status on their application. “Referred” status means that their applications are approved but they cannot be paid due to a challenge with identity verification.
These challenges have arisen because their ID numbers have been linked to fraudulent matters such as Identity theft. In an effort to correct this matter, a process has been implemented where beneficiaries can confirm their identity via a biometric verification process.
Sassa revealed that nearly half a million beneficiaries have not yet complied with FICA requirements on their Postbank accounts. Beneficiaries are, therefore, urged to finalise the FICA process or to upload alternative bank details to enable their payments.
Once the beneficiary corrects their payment method and it is verified, Sassa will be able to release their grant payment. However, Sassa cannot proceed with payments, if the beneficiary does not do their part.
