SASSA biometric drive verifies nearly one million beneficiaries and suspends 68,000 grants

SASSA has biometrically verified 997,379 beneficiaries since its verification drive was introduced in September 2025, across 432 offices nationwide, IOL reported in May 2026.

Around 68,000 grants were suspended, with 67,868 suspensions in the third quarter alone: 37,825 child support grants, 20,429 old age grants and 7,908 disability grants.

The system uses online facial biometric recognition and fingerprint verification at local offices, linked to the Department of Home Affairs database for real-time identity checks. Intensified fraud prevention and verification measures have delivered savings exceeding R1 billion, according to the agency.

SASSA received 7,779 complaints related to electronic facial recognition, while no fingerprint-verification complaints were reported through official channels.

Government allocated R302 billion for the 2026/27 financial year, of which R293 billion goes to social grants. Offices with queue management were expanded from 113 to 378, and SASSA is developing a self-service digital platform for remote identity verification and grant reviews.

For the security industry, the programme is South Africa's largest live deployment of facial and fingerprint biometrics at population scale.

Source: IOL (The Post), 25 May 2026 - iol.co.za (also: witness.co.za)