Postbank apologises for glitches preventing beneficiaries getting paid

Postbank has apologised to R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant beneficiaries after payments were not made on Wednesday due to system glitches.

Thousands of frustrated beneficiaries aired their grievances after withdrawals made at retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Boxer and Usave, timed out and they were told the “system is offline”.

“Postbank wishes to apologise to customers experiencing difficulties with R350 withdrawals within retail [shops]. This is due to connectivity disruptions within our payment services platform.

“Our IT teams have been tasked to re-establish connectivity as a matter of urgency and some transactions are already going through successfully. We are working on regaining full services availability as we take any disruptions seriously,” said spokesperson Bongani Diako.

It was difficult to tell which areas were affected and Postbank would engage its various retailers.

He dismissed rumours that SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) gold cards were no longer functional.

“Sassa gold cards are fully functional and customers are able to perform transactions via all payment channels that include ATMs, SA Post Office branches as well as payments and withdrawals within retailers.

“We reassure all customers and stakeholders that their overall experience of Postbank and the service we offer remains our top priority and we apologise for any inconvenience caused,” Diako added.

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