CPS forecasts “disruptive and stressful experience” for social grant recipients in September

Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) has warned that approximately 1.7 million beneficiaries could have difficulty accessing their social grants in September.

This comes as Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu has called an urgent media briefing in Johannesburg on Friday to “comprehensively respond to claims by CPS”.

Responding to questions earlier this week, South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) spokesperson Kgomoco Diseko said that duping beneficiaries into getting green EasyPay Everywhere (EPE) cards was a way for the company to “cling to SASSA” when its contract comes to an end on 30 September.

CPS and EasyPay are subsidiary companies of Net1.

According to Net1’s financial report released on Wednesday, revenue for CPS had declined by 81% compared to its fourth quarter last year. This, it said, was due to the dwindling number of grant recipients paid in the lead up to its contract ending on 30 September. This was despite a favourable increase in its other financial products which include the EPE accounts.

In a statement on Wednesday, CPS said SASSA and the Post Office “made adverse decisions” which it believes would disrupt the “seamless payment” to beneficiaries who collect their grants at paypoints and ATMs.

According to CPS about 800,000 grant recipients with the old SASSA cards have been removed from the CPS payment file.

“Majority of these grant recipients have not been issued with the new SASSA card. CPS will not be able to pay these grant recipients if they arrive at paypoints with their old SASSA cards,” the service provider stated.

“This will unfortunately result in a disruptive and stressful experience for these grant recipients, who will be turned away at paypoints or be declined withdrawals at ATMs,” it said.

SASSA has instructed CPS to no longer service cash paypoints in Gauteng, Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape where the Post Office is expected to take over from September. A significant number of paypoints were closed in the remaining five provinces. CPS said that the details of these closures have not yet been shared by SASSA.

“The decision to close these paypoints was communicated at short notice to CPS,” it said.

CPS added that an additional 900,000 beneficiaries who have EasyPay Everywhere (EPE) accounts will also not be paid next month as SASSA failed to process their payment requests. “The inconvenience or disruption is therefore beyond CPS’s control,” it said.

“CPS has been, and probably will continue to be accused of seeking to prolong its involvement in the payment of social grants beyond 30 September by criticising the phase-out process. CPS has no interest in any further delays or an extension of its contract,” CPS said.

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