As SRD payments have started to drop into accounts in the first week of January, quite a significant number of beneficiaries reported getting what seems like two SRD disbursements on 05 January, resulting in widespread confusion and conjecture. This is due to messages and payment alerts referring to two payments in the same ID, raising eyebrows whether SASSA is making double payments or clearing the backlogs.
Why Are There Double Payment Alerts?
There isn’t really one reason behind the proliferation but majorly to catch up on the payment backlog and slow processing from the months past. Where an older approved payment could not be processed or was for whatever reason withheld and printed alongside the release of the first payments from this current cycle, double entries appeared reflecting two payments quite close upon each other or on the same day.
Does SASSA Pay Twice the SRD Grants?
SASSA has no policy that allows beneficiaries to receive two SRD incomes for the same month. After all, a double deposit signifies the payment accrued from several months instead of a bonus or special payout. Beneficiaries should appreciate that it’s not an increase in the grant; rather, it is rectifying delayed payouts.
How Does One Verification of the ID Influence the Outlay?
SRD payouts, as we all know, relate directly with the verification of a person’s ID. Once these hurdles with the verification have been overcome, the money due for approvals that had been delayed will be paid together with the standard one. As mentioned, it could look like a case where the ID is “scoring twice” since true-to-data amounts were still open.
People who are likely to see two deposits will be those who have in a prior month(s) waited for pending SRD approval or experienced delayed payments. Those who have recently verified or updated their bank details and had to survive another round of verification will also wait together for the two releases to be verified.
Protocols for Beneficiaries to Respond in Situations where Two Payments are Shown in their Account
Whenever two entries of SRD deposits appear in a beneficiary’s bank account, that particular individual needs to basically identify the specific months the SRD deposits were allotted for. Beneficiaries are encouraged to maintain all records and proofs received to ascertain that the amount credited is correct and that each deposit corresponds to a separate month and is not merely a copy of someone else’s check.
How to React to Unsolicited Credits
If receiving payment is a surprise, it is unwise to consider ways of using such credits until it is clear why and for whom such an unsolicited payment is intended. Likewise, there may arise situations where refunds are necessary if an error has occurred through no fault of the recipient. Beneficiaries are required to check the payment status with the aid of the official SRD dispatch channels to avoid further hazards.
The January Payment Order Process
January payments continue to flux with the processing endeavors to reconcile some discrepancies in the entire system towards the previous cycles thereof. Equally, this has been appreciatively argued-out for the rare observation of odd payment series such as identical-day posting with more than one notification for the self-same beneficiary.
Importance of Clear Communication
Mistakes in payments cause a lot of errant information and put both claimant and association in a lurch through a lot of unrealistic expectations. If it is understood that SRD payments are purely monthly and subject to verification, then the beneficiaries can avoid a knee-jerk response, panic, rumour, or false one-upmanship about grant increment.
What Lies Ahead?
Upon clearances on backlog, beneficiaries should expect to walk right into a schedule of patterned payments once again. In the absence of verification or banking delays, payment for the months that zip by should again be made in one single deposit for each month approved.
All That Said, What Way Forward?
The double-fun 05 January SRD windfall does not precede the advent of new benefits or policy change but two delayed payments that are only just released alongside their like. For a clearer understanding, and being an official update, the beneficiary, however, is advised to confirm his/her payment months, maintain records, and heavily bank on the official status updates as to what each deposit signifies in people’s understanding.