The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has removed from its roll Postbank’s urgent application aimed at stopping the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) from ending its service agreement.
The ruling was delivered on Friday.
The master service agreement (MSA), which governs Postbank’s role in distributing social grants, will officially end on Tuesday, 30 September.
This contract originated in 2018 when the Post Office — later succeeded by Postbank — was tasked with paying grants after the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ordered government to end the unlawful cash paymaster services (CPS) deal.
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Sassa issued a notice in December 2023 of its intention to terminate the agreement, providing a six-month lead time.
However, Postbank had sought an 18-month period to wind down services, which was granted.
While 30 September 2025 was set as the end date of the agreement, Postbank declared a dispute and later lodged an urgent interdict application to keep the contract alive pending dispute resolution.
Sassa had argued that the MSA has become obsolete because the majority of cash pay points have been closed.
However, Postbank contended that terminating the contract would harm grant recipients, as the bank would be forced to impose withdrawal charges.
This is a developing story.
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