SASSA is making big changes to how people apply for grants in South Africa. They’re updating their systems to make everything digital and modern. The money for these changes will come partly from ending their deal with Postbank.
The Department of Social Development shared these plans during a meeting in October 2025. They want to make the whole process of getting grants easier and faster. The new system will check applications automatically and store all records digitally.
SASSA plans to add new technology in their offices too. People will be able to use self-service machines to apply for grants. They’ll also set up a digital system to manage waiting lines.
These changes will help both the staff and people who need grants. The main goal is to make everything work better and smoother. With automatic reviews & digital records SASSA can help more people faster. This new approach will change how South Africans get their social grants in a good way.
SASSA will use money saved from ending its Postbank agreement to make things better. Back in 2018 SASSA started working with the South African Post Office because a court said they had to stop using Cash Paymaster Service.
The court wanted SASSA to handle all grant payments by itself but SASSA wasn’t ready for this big job yet. They teamed up with the Post Office to keep paying grants while getting better at doing it themselves.
But in 2023 the Post Office had money problems and had to close many payment locations. The payment service then moved to Postbank. Now SASSA wants to use the extra money to improve their services.
The partnership changed into a Postbank service agreement. This deal will end in ocotber 2025. After this the Department of Social Development will focus on making their services digital.
The government set aside R248.8 billion for social grants and relief in 2025/26. This amount will grow to R259.7 billion in 2026/27 and R271.4 billion in 2027/28.
A recent survey by Stats SA shows more people now depend on government money. In five provinces more people get grants than earn salaries.
These provinces are Eastern Cape Free State Limpopo Northern Cape & Mpumalanga. The number of people getting grants has grown a lot. In 2003 only 12.8% of people got grants. This went up to 30.9% in 2019. By 2024 it reached 40.1% mainly because of the Covid-19 relief grant.
The government started the R350 SRD grant to help struggling families during Covid-19. They keep extending it each year and recently raised it to R370.
The government thinks about turning this into a basic income grant for everyone but hasn’t made firm plans yet. Right now 40% of South African homes need social grants to get by.
This number has grown a lot from about 31% to 50% of households getting grants. After regular jobs social grants are the biggest way people make money.
About 24% of homes say grants are their main income source. These grants matter most in certain areas. The Eastern Cape has 39% of homes depending mainly on grants. The Northern Cape has 34% and Limpopo has about 34% of homes relying mostly on grants.
