Simple Steps To Withdraw R350 Grant Money at an ATM
You can only collect your SRD grant at an ATM if the money is already sitting in a bank account that belongs to you. SASSA does not have an “ATM” payment option, and SASSA does not issue any card of its own. So the route is short: set your payment method to a personal bank account on the SASSA SRD portal, wait for the payment to land, then withdraw the cash at any ATM using that bank’s card and PIN.
If you do not have a bank account, the ATM is not your collection point. You collect cash at the till inside Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay or Boxer using your ID and the cellphone number registered on your application.
The one exception is the Postbank card. If you already hold a Postbank account and card, that card works at any ATM in the country, but every withdrawal costs you a fee. More on that below, because it matters more than you think.
One quick note on the amount. The grant went up from R350 to R370 in April 2024 and it is still R370 today. Most people still call it the R350 grant, so that is the name I will use, but R370 is what lands.
Before you go anywhere, check three things
Standing at an ATM with an empty account is a wasted trip and a wasted taxi fare. Check these first.
Your payment method is a bank account in your own name. SASSA will not pay a grant into somebody else’s account. Not your mother’s, not your boyfriend’s, not your neighbour’s. The name on the account must match the name on your ID or the payment bounces back.
Your month is approved and a payment date is showing. Do a SASSA status check and look for an approved status with a date next to it. Approved with no date means the money has not been released yet.
Your account is open and active. A closed or dormant account sends your R370 straight back to SASSA, and getting it reprocessed takes weeks.
Step 1: Set your payment method to a bank account
This is the step the whole thing hangs on, and it is the step most guides get wrong. You do not just type your bank details into a form on the website. SASSA sends you a secure link first.
- Go to srd.sassa.gov.za in your browser. Type the address in yourself. Do not click links from WhatsApp or SMS.
- Find the section that asks how you want to change your banking details.
- Enter your 13-digit South African ID number.
- SASSA sends an SMS with a PIN or a secure link to the cellphone number you registered on your application.
- Open that link, choose your payment method, and enter your bank name, account number, branch code and account type.
- Submit once and wait for the confirmation SMS.
Two rules SASSA states plainly on that page. The bank account must be yours. And if you pick the money transfer option through one of the major banks instead, the cellphone number that receives the SMS must be registered in your own name.
If you lost the SIM you applied with, stop here. You cannot update your banking details without that number, because the secure link goes there. Change your cellphone number with SASSA first, then come back and do the banking update.
The options that show on your profile can change. Whatever the portal shows you on the day is the truth. Ignore anything else you read, including this article, if the portal says otherwise.
Step 2: Wait for your payment date
SRD payments do not go out with the pension. They are released in batches in the last stretch of the month, usually somewhere between the 24th and the end of the month, and every person gets their own date. That date shows on your status check.
Do not go to the ATM before your date. The money is not there. And if you are collecting cash at a store instead of a bank, do not go before the SMS arrives. SASSA has said this for years and people still lose a day queuing for nothing.
Once the money is in your account it stays there. There is no rush to withdraw it on day one. Going a day or two later means shorter queues and a much lower chance of being followed.
Step 3: Withdraw the cash at the ATM
Now the easy part. If you have never used an ATM before, this takes two minutes.
- Pick an ATM in a busy, well-lit place. Inside a mall or a garage forecourt is better than a quiet street corner.
- Insert your bank card.
- Enter your PIN. Cover the keypad with your other hand.
- Choose Withdrawal or Cash, then choose the account (savings or cheque).
- Enter the amount. Remember the ATM only dispenses in notes, so ask for R350 rather than R370 if the machine will not do odd amounts.
- Take the cash, take your card, take the slip.
- Put the money away before you turn around. Do not stand there counting it.
Your bank will usually send you an SMS confirming the withdrawal. If it does not arrive but the cash came out, that is normal and nothing to worry about.
What that ATM withdrawal actually costs you
Here is the part nobody tells you, and on R370 it stings.
If you are withdrawing with a Postbank card, Postbank’s own published fee schedule charges R5.31 plus 0.83% of the amount you withdraw plus a R0.20 switch fee for an ATM withdrawal. Take out your full R370 and that works out to roughly R8.58 gone. Just over two percent of your grant, paid to a machine.
Now compare that to the till. The same Postbank account gives you three free cash withdrawals a month at retail merchants, and after that it is R3.50. So walking into Shoprite or Pick n Pay and asking for cash back at the till costs you nothing, while the ATM outside the same shop costs you nearly nine rand.
There is a third number worth knowing. A rejected ATM transaction costs R4.50. If you punch in the wrong PIN or try to withdraw before the money lands and the machine declines you three times, you have paid R13.50 chasing money you never touched.
If you are using a normal bank card from Capitec, TymeBank, FNB, Absa, Nedbank or Standard Bank, your fees depend on that bank’s own pricing, and withdrawing at your own bank’s ATM is nearly always cheaper than using another bank’s machine.
The honest advice: if you can collect at a till, collect at a till. The ATM is for convenience, not for saving money.
If you have no bank account, the ATM is not your route
This is where most guides send people in circles. If you have no bank account and no Postbank card, an ATM cannot pay you. Full stop.
What you do instead is collect cash at the till. Wait for the SMS from SASSA, then walk into Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay or Boxer with your South African ID and the cellphone that is registered on your application. Tell the cashier you are collecting a SASSA payment. They verify you, you approve the prompt on your phone, and they hand you the cash.
You cannot send somebody else to do this. Your ID and your registered phone both have to be there.
If you would rather have a bank account, several banks now open one with nothing more than your ID and charge no monthly fee. Capitec, TymeBank and African Bank all offer this. Once the account is open, update your banking details on the SRD portal and your grant lands there from the next cycle.
If you still have a Postbank Gold Card
Postbank has set 31 August 2026 as the final date for swapping the old SASSA Gold Card for the new Postbank Black Card, and has said this deadline will not be extended again. After that date the Gold Card stops working at ATMs, at tills and for balance checks.
Your grant does not stop. The money still goes into your Postbank account. You simply will not be able to reach it until you have the new card.
The swap is free and takes minutes. Bring your South African ID to a Postbank point inside Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Boxer or Pick n Pay. No forms. The new card works immediately, and any balance moves across automatically. Check the word Postbank is printed on the front of the card you are handed. If anyone asks you to sign a form, pay a fee, or share your PIN or OTP, walk away and call Postbank on 0800 53 54 55.
The Post Office is no longer an option
If you have an old guide telling you to collect your grant at a Post Office counter, throw it away. Postbank stopped cash withdrawals at Post Office branches from 1 May 2026. Grant money is now reached through retailers, through Standard Bank ATMs and through ordinary bank accounts.
Some SRD status screens still show old Post Office wording. That is legacy text sitting in the system. It means you have not selected a payment method, nothing more. Go and set one.
What “no card record” actually means
If you see a no card record message on the SASSA system, it means the system cannot find a payment card linked to your profile.
For most SRD beneficiaries, that is not an error at all. It is simply true. The SRD grant is not paid onto a SASSA card, so there is no card record to find. The message is telling you what you already know.
It becomes a problem only if you are expecting to be paid by card. In that case, one of three things is going on. You have no payment method loaded yet, in which case go and load one on the SRD portal. Your details do not match Home Affairs, in which case fix them with Home Affairs first. Or your card is genuinely lost, stolen or blocked, in which case call SASSA on 0800 60 10 11 or Postbank on 0800 53 54 55.
What it does not mean is that you should be entering card numbers, expiry dates or CVV codes anywhere. You never do that at an ATM, and no legitimate SASSA process will ever ask you for them. If a website or a person asks you for a CVV to “release” your grant, it is a scam.
Staying safe at the machine
Grant paydays are the busiest days for ATM crime. A few habits that cost you nothing.
Do not accept help from a stranger, even one wearing what looks like a uniform. Do not let anyone see your PIN. If the machine swallows your card, do not walk away, phone your bank from where you are standing. If the ATM looks tampered with, loose panels, glue around the slot, a card reader that seems to stick out, use a different one.
And nobody from SASSA or Postbank will ever phone you and ask for your PIN or your OTP. Nobody. If they do, they are stealing from you.
Common questions
Can I withdraw SASSA money at an ATM? Yes, but only if the money is in a bank account in your own name, or on a Postbank card. You use that bank’s card and PIN at the machine. There is no SASSA card and no SASSA ATM option.
How do I withdraw my R350 grant from an ATM? Set your payment method to a personal bank account on srd.sassa.gov.za, wait for your payment date, then withdraw with your bank card at any ATM. There is no wallet to transfer money out of. SASSA pays straight into whichever method is on your profile.
Can I withdraw money from my SASSA card? There is no SASSA card. If you hold a Postbank card, it works at any ATM showing a Visa or Mastercard logo, but each ATM withdrawal costs roughly R8.58 on a R370 grant. Cash back at a Shoprite or Pick n Pay till is free for your first three withdrawals a month.
How can I collect my SRD grant from an ATM without a card? You cannot. Cardless collection for SRD happens at a store till, not at an ATM. Take your ID and your registered cellphone to Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay or Boxer after you receive the SMS from SASSA. There are no cheques involved and nothing to sign.
Why is my money not at the ATM on payday? Either your payment date has not come up yet, or your banking details did not verify, or the account you gave is not in your name. Check your status first, then check your banking details on the portal.
In short
The ATM is the last step, not the first one. Get a bank account in your own name, load it on srd.sassa.gov.za through the secure SMS link, wait for the payment date on your status check, then draw the cash. If you have no bank account, the till at Shoprite or Pick n Pay is your collection point and it is free, while the ATM outside will quietly take almost nine rand from you every month.
Check anything you are unsure of on srd.sassa.gov.za or call SASSA on 0800 60 10 11. Both are free.