SA Post Office launches the first of its cashless ATM

The SA Post Office (SAPO) has officially launched the first of its cashless ATMs. These will serve as additional payment points for SASSA social grants in an event held at Bojanala Local Municipality, Rustenburg. The ATM is located within the premises of Kagiso Trading, GG Location.

The launch marks the commencement of SAPO’s roll-out of more than 10,000 of these cashless ATM devises within spaza shops, township and rural areas’ merchants to avail financial services close to where people live. It will further address digital, economic and social divides.

Upon reaching any spaza shop, township and rural areas’ merchant within which a cashless ATM is installed, a SASSA social grant beneficiary will:

• Insert their SASSA card inside the ATM card slot and use their SASSA card Pin to initiate a transaction (in the same manner as they initiate a transaction from any other bank ATM)
• Select an amount they request to be debited on their SASSA card.
• If the debit is successful, the cashless ATM will print out two slips (A merchant and customer) confirming the debit.
• The customer will hand over the merchant slip to the spaza shop, and in exchange, the merchant will give the customer cash or goods to the value of the withdrawal.

Deputy Minister of Postal and Digital Communications Technologies, Pinky Kekana, explains that during the launch, the SAPO cashless ATM solution aligns to the department’s mandate to foster economic inclusion through technology innovations. 

“The cashless ATM solution has multiple benefits for the society and will contribute in decongesting the current SASSA grants payment points. In light of government regulations to encourage social distancing to curb the spread of Covid-19, the additional 10,000 ATMs access points for social grants payments within the areas in which the beneficiaries reside is opportune,” said Minister Kekana.  

Attending the launch, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, commended the SAPO cashless ATMs solution initiative as an ideal mechanism of ensuring that services are closer to the people and the promotion of local economies.

“We have decided to join SAPO to witness the introduction of this important innovation in the distribution of grants. We support innovative initiatives in society, especially those that will improve service delivery in government. This solution promises to deliver multiple benefits for our society. Among others, it will promote local economy and empower informal traders, reduce the travelling cost for beneficiaries and decongest the current pay points. We are grateful that this solution will also make a contribution in curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic by decongesting the current pay points.”

MEC of Social Development in the Northwest Province, Boitumelo Moiloa, said the new system would stimulate local economic activity.

This is because SASSA beneficiaries will be spending their grant money at merchants within their localities, and the initiative will assist beneficiaries to stretch the rand value of each social grants disbursement, as they will no longer have to travel long distances to reach grants payments access points.

The Executive Mayor of Rustenburg, Mpho Khunou, commented that the city was proud to be the first in which the service is available. Furthermore, he said he was thankful for the benefit the cashless ATM bring to the most vulnerable citizens.

The local communities will now be able to purchase services such as electricity closer to their homes, and they can redirect the money and save from the bank fees they pay each time they withdraw cash.

Chairperson of the Post Office Board, Coleen Makhubele adds, “We are proud to announce a product that takes South Africans one step further away from cash, and which will benefit local economies. Moreover, the strategy adopted by SAPO to place these cashless ATMs right where the people are enables the vulnerable members of society to make the absolute most of their grant.”

SAPO says that in addition to accessing social grants, customers will be able to use the cashless ATMs to perform the following transactions safely without the need to withdraw cash:

• Purchase pre-paid electricity
• Pre-paid airtime purchase
• Bill payments (for municipality and other bills)
• Insurance activations and payments
• Money Transfer
• Ticketing
• Transport Solution (Loading of Contactless transport cards)
• Balance enquiries 

For enquiries and interview requests please contact Johan Kruger on 082 337 3116.

Well done to SAPO for its efforts to make life easier for scores of people.