MFSA Members: Social Grants

SOCIAL GRANTS:   GRINDROD BANK

SASSA has awarded the tender for the distribution of State Social Grants to Net1/Grindrod Bank for a five (5) year term.

This constitutes major implications for MFI’s offering credit to recipients of social grants as the Grindrod Bank Card is not EDO enabled.

In order to protect and safeguard the interest of our members, MFSA has been in consultation and negotiations directly and indirectly with South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Treasury, the Payment Association of South Africa (PASA), Department of Social Welfare, eSPA, CIBA and Net1/Grindrod.

We have been able, in close co-operation with the four (4) major Service Providers (Altech NuPay, Intecon/Allps, Mycomax and Real Pay), which all are members of MFSA, to agree on interim solutions in order to collect outstanding payments for the forthcoming period with immediate effect.

The envisaged solution will require co-operation between Service Providers, Net1/Grindrod and Credit Providers and will be managed and monitored closely until such time an industry wide solution is implemented.

It is expected that the process will require significant discussions and a precise outcome cannot be predicted.

You can expect further communication from your Service Provider and MFSA will constantly update MFSA members as matters unfold. 

It is furthermore recommended that members take due care when offering credit to recipients of social grants, especially with regards to compliance to the National Credit Act and National Payment System Act.

Members are requested to appreciate that processes of this nature are drawn out and often politically loaded.  Therefore, you should refrain from making public statements to the media, enquiries by the media should be referred directly to MFSA.

Please be assured that every effort is made to resolve the matter in a fair and amicable manner; however the strategy to be deployed will be determined by practical realities.

Once again we thank you for your support and commitment.  We trust this matter will be resolved satisfactory in due course.

Regards,

MFSA Team