Moves to make Postbank a state bank have split South Africans in opinion, with many predicting it will fail.
Communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Postbank plans to roll out 100 new branches across the country and assess which post office branches will be brought on board.
“We are targeting to open 100 branches. Postbank has been doing an assessment to see which post office branches are profitable, and those will be brought on board and start the infrastructure revamp required.
“Currently there’s no proper banking infrastructure. A bank operates at a different level, so they must start to put in the necessary infrastructure so that when the licence comes the bank will be ready,” said Ntshavheni.
While some have applauded the move, others said it was bound to fail.
Postbank was recently urged by the Reserve Bank to fix security breaches and address other outstanding issues to retain its participation in the national payment system.
Reserve Bank spokesperson Thoraya Pandy told Business Times Postbank had met most of the requirements to retain its status.
“The outstanding requirement that relates to the swapping out of cards that were compromised and issued to their clients, including the South African Social Services Agency (Sassa) beneficiaries, was not fully met.
“To achieve this final requirement by the Reserve Bank, Postbank must request all the affected cardholders to come to its offices to cancel the current cards and reissue them with new cards,” said Pandy.
Ntshavheni confirmed the government is working to ensure the system is free from manipulation, after ATM card fraud-related crimes led to grant beneficiaries using gold cards not being able to withdraw funds from ATMs in December.
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