Each month the money for 19-million people who rely on SA Social Security Agency grants is paid into 12-million bank accounts. An increasing number of these (59%) are at commercial banks, with the remainder paid via the Postbank or the Post Office.

State-run Postbank took over the administration of payments in October 2022, the third change in 5 years. The transition has been difficult and there are regular reports of delays and other ‘glitches’.

As a result, grantees have been seeking more reliable options. In the past 12 months, Capitec Bank increased its number of grant account holders by almost 1.1-million to 3-million while Postbank lost 1.8-million customers.