You may soon be able to collect your R350 grant at Spar - post office hopes to get stores on board in small towns

SA Post Office (Sapo) hopes to expand its pilot project of allowing R350 social relief of distress grant beneficiaries to collect their payment at all supermarkets nationwide. 

Currently, beneficiaries of the distress grant can collect their payment from Pick n Pay and Boxer stores. 

The latest collection points are among several introduced by the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) to make grant collection easy for beneficiaries. 

On Wednesday, Sapo said it was hoping to get other supermarkets, including Spar, on board to enable people from small towns to collect their payments at the store's collection points. 

“The agreement with Pay n Pick and Boxer is the pilot project, we plan to extend it to all supermarkets very soon. 

“Spar is well represented in smaller towns, so we hope to get them on board as soon as possible,” said Sapo.

Sapo pleaded with beneficiaries to wait for an SMS from Sassa confirming their collection payout point as either a Pick n Pay or Boxer store before making their way to the collection points. 

Beneficiaries are not allowed to forward the SMS to a different number as this will not work when collecting payment, said Sapo. 

“The recipient will need the cellphone to collect the grant. The cellphone is necessary for the recipient to approve the payment,” it said. 

“You have to approve the payment yourself on the cellphone you used to apply for the grant. Forwarding the SMS to a new number will not work.”

How do collection points work? 

• The grant applicant receives an SMS from Sassa confirming their successful application.
• A grant beneficiary will receive an SMS message from Sassa confirming the collection point and advising the day of collection.
• Pick n Pay collection points exclude BP Pick n Pay Express, Pick n Pay Clothing and Pick n Pay Liquor stores.

What do I need to take with me? 

• The beneficiary must take their ID and physical cellphone (with the number registered at Sassa) to the store when collecting their grant.
• Enter the ID number and registered Sassa cellphone number at the till point to confirm the funds are available for collection.
• The beneficiary immediately receives a USSD message which they must approve on their cellphone before cash is handed over.
• Beneficiaries will never be asked to enter personal information on their cellphones or to click on a link.

When can I collect my payment at a post office?

Recipients can collect their payments at post offices by using the ID number system, which determines payment dates according to the last three digits of beneficiaries’ identity numbers.

Here’s when you can collect your money this month:

• 080 — September 28;
• 081 — September 29;
• 082 — September 23 and 30;
• 084 — September 27;
• 085 — September 28;
• 086 — September 29;
• 087 — September 23 and 30; and
• 089 — September 27.