The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) offers the Social Relief of Distress grant during difficult times like natural disasters like the outbreak of Covid-19. However, some beneficiaries often experience delays in getting payments for their R350 grants due to mistakes in the banking details provided. Failure to provide correct information can lead to delayed SRD payment even if they receive approval for their applications. If you want to learn how to avoid delayed SRD grant payments, keep on reading.
How to Avoid Delayed SRD Grant Payments
When you receive a notification of approval of your application for the SASSA SRD grant, you can still experience delays in getting payment because of the wrong banking information. To avoid such a scenario, all applicants must provide correct banking details bearing their names.
One thing you should know is that SASSA does not deposit grant money into someone’s account apart from the beneficiary. Before submitting your application for an SRD grant, ensure you have a bank account. Provide correct documents, including your ID or passport number, proof of residence, and income. If this information is missing, you will likely experience delays in getting your payment.
The verification of applications usually takes some time, depending on the number of applications SASSA receives. Therefore, you should play your role to avoid delays by providing correct information. Moreover, applicants should also be patient since delays are inevitable.
How Long Does SASSA Take To Send Payment?
When you apply for an SRD R350 grant, it is a good idea to know when it will be deposited into your account. However, there is no fixed time to expect payment to be deposited into your account since it goes through some processes. The banking details you provide are first sent to the applicant’s bank and the Department of Treasury for verification.
Once the verification is done, SASSA will begin processing your SRD grant payment. There is no fixed time frame for this process, although it usually takes about seven working days. However, it can take more than that, depending on different factors, such as the credibility of your banking details and the number of applications being processed.
Applicants will also receive an SMS notification confirming whether their application for an SRD grant has been approved or not. Again, there is no fixed time frame to expect your grant to be credited to the bank. Once the payment is ready for collection, you will get an SMS from SASSA. Some stages cannot be fast-tracked, so you need to be patient.
Why is My SASSA R350 Still Approved but No Payment?
Once your SASSA R350 application has been approved, the next thing you should expect is to get your money. However, this is not always the case since you may still not get the payment. Delays in SASSA grant payments can result from the reasons outlined below.
- The applicant has provided the wrong banking details, or they have used someone’s bank account. Check if the information you have provided is correct to avoid delays in getting your grant.
- You have updated or changed your payment details and these have not yet been captured by SASSA. It is allowed to change your payment method, but this can affect the payment process. SASSA must verify all the payment details you provide before payment is credited to your account.
- System errors can lead to delays in the payment of SASSA grants. These are common, and SASSA often experiences these challenges. If the system is down, there is no way payments can be processed. Fortunately, this is usually temporary and only affects payments by a few hours or days.
Some of the causes of delays in R350 payments are avoidable, while others are not. If you can avoid the situation, be sure to provide accurate documents. You also need to exercise patience if the issue is beyond your control. If the grant is not paid for an extended time, you can call SASSA’s toll-free helpline at 0800601011 to inquire about the cause of the delay. Alternatively, you can visit your nearest SASSA office to report the problem.
How Do I Fix a Pending SRD Payment?
If your SRD payment remains stuck on “Pending” status, it means your application is not yet fully verified. All applications undergo a thorough verification exercise to ensure that only deserving applicants get social assistance. For instance, SASSA verifies if you are not registered for UIF with the Department of Employment and Labour and checks citizenship with the Department of Home Affairs.
SASSA also verifies other personal details like ID, proof of residence, applicant’s income, and banking information. The verification process can be long, but once it is complete, your application status will be changed to “Approved.” Therefore, there is little or nothing you can do to fix a pending SRD payment.
Before you submit your application, make sure you meet all the requirements. Moreover, provide credible details to reduce the chances of delays affecting the release of your SRD payment.
When you apply for a SASSA grant, ensure that your bank account details are correct and the account is yours. SASSA does not deposit an R350 grant into somebody’s account. When you change your payment details, try to do so earlier, before the next payment cycle. SASSA needs to verify all the details you provide to prevent fraud. Therefore, none other than you can avoid delayed SRD grant payments.
