Postbank Systematic Rot, Failures Uncovered

…. Deep throat blows the lid on systemic failures, suspected fraud and corruption at the Stateowned entity

The mounting crisis at Postbank has taken a sharp and harrowing turn as an anonymous insider revealed exclusively to The Gauteng Times that the chronic service failures plaguing the institution are rooted in deep-seated high-level mismanagement rather than front-line incompetence. While public anger is frequently directed at floor-level staff who face the daily brunt of citizen frustration, this whistleblower claims that the workers themselves are victims of a toxic internal culture and a severe lack of basic operational resources. The employee explained that staff keep reporting the same issues repeatedly, and it’s been years, but management will just say they are investigating, and they will take forever with their investigation. The insider alleged that management blames the workers for not being able to help clients, but the staff want to help; however, they are left wondering how they are supposed to do that with limited resources. According to the insider, the decline began in earnest after Postbank separated from the South African Post Office, a move that severed the vital front-line connection where clients were previously able to get help. “Now that we don’t have branches anymore, we do everything over the phone, and it’s not working because even the system is old and slow, which makes matters worse. Postbank’s independence is the root cause of all these problems because, while with the Post office even the phones were working just fine, and daily targets were easily met,” the whistleblower told this newspaper. This internal turmoil has left South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens, particularly those living below the poverty line, to bear the brunt of systemic corruption and technical decay. Recipients of South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grants have reported harrowing experiences ranging from funds vanishing during ATM transactions to perpetual system failures that result in hours-long queues. The whistleblower alleged that a common and devastating technical failure occurs where money disappears the moment a client inserts their card to withdraw. “Sometimes you’d find that once the client inserts their card to withdraw, the money disappears, the query will be sent to Balancing, but they will tell you that it was withdrawn, but the client would not have received their money, and it will be another long wait for the client to get their money reversed, that’s if it will be reversed at all. Most of the people that find themselves being victims of this are those who are using Sassa cards; the ones with Postbank cards and Post Office Books are better,” the employee explained. The security of these accounts has also come under intense scrutiny, with the whistleblower suggesting that internal leaks may be fuelling outside fraudsters. They alleged that it sometimes seems like there is someone leaking information from the inside and giving it to fraudsters outside, because the call centre receives calls from people trying to access accounts to withdraw money even when it is obvious the account is not theirs. In many cases, these accounts have been accumulating money for years, particularly the R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grants. “When you check the account, you’d find that it has been accumulating money for years,” the insider added regarding the R370 grants. Furthermore, the transition away from the physical infrastructure of Post Office branches has made obtaining new cards a logistical nightmare. While cards can now be obtained from outlets such as Pick ‘n Pay, Boxer, and Shoprite, the whistleblower noted that it is only a selected few in every city. “One of the problems that the clients are struggling with is getting their cards because we no longer work with Post Office where it was easy for people to just go to their nearest branch and get assistance,” they stated. A major issue involves card security; sometimes, when a client makes a card, they find that the card is already active in another province. This specifically affects clients who live far from towns and let their money sit in accounts for months. “Sometimes, when a client makes a card, you’d find that the card is already active in another province, and it’s those clients who are far from towns and let their money sit in the accounts for months and only access it when they get a chance to go to town. “When they eventually go to collect their money, it’s withdrawn, and their card is blocked because another one is active,” the whistleblower detailed. When they lodge a complaint, the fraud department reportedly takes forever to assist. The insider claimed that “When they lodge a complaint, the fraud department will take forever to assist, that’s if they will assist at all. We may not know how our fraud department works, but they are not doing their job because clients could wait for more than three months to get assistance with any kind of case they reported.” The insider further alleged that when these issues are raised with management, the response is often dismissive. “When we report these matters of fraud, the managers will tell us that fraud is everywhere and at every bank. The managers are aware of this, and they don’t seem to be willing to solve this matter,” the whistleblower revealed. This culture of negligence extends to the treatment of employees, who are reportedly forced to persevere under conditions of victimisation. Call centre agents are expected to do their jobs without proper resources, using an old system with no access to clients’ accounts to resolve fraudulent activities. “We are expected to do our jobs, yet we are not given proper resources, we are using a very old system, and we, as the call centre, have no access to clients’ accounts. No one is willing to give an answer that we could give to clients regarding fraudulent activities in their accounts. “Instead, we are threatened every time with being fired, especially when we do not meet the daily targets; nothing is ever enough, we are victimized all the time, and because we need the job, we persevere,” the employee shared. One of the most damning revelations concerns the perceived leadership vacuum at the top. The insider expressed a belief that the Postbank CEO may not be aware of what is happening at the bank. “We have noticed that the Postbank CEO, Nikki Ntomboxolo Mbengashe, may not be aware of what is happening at this bank. The emails she sends us and her posts on social media suggest that she is not aware, because we don’t know what she is talking about. “We want her to know what is happening in this Bank especially to clients, because some of them are elderly and illiterate, so it’s heartbreaking not being able to help because we want to help them, but we can’t. “We want her to attend to the issue with the system and the phone system, upgrade it, and deal with the fraud that is reigning in this Bank that leaves hundreds of clients helpless every day because their money just disappears…attend to the issues of cards, and create physical branches to be able to help clients. I think if she fixes all these problems, the treatment towards us employees may be better,” the whistleblower concluded. The human cost of these administrative failures remains stark. One beneficiary, Beverley Neasham, recounted an ordeal where her money was withdrawn and her card cancelled after she reported fraudulent activity, yet she never received a replacement. She expressed the desperation felt by many. “How are old people supposed to survive?” she queried. In a move that many found tone-deaf, the bank apologised and encouraged her to reach out to the very same department that had already failed to respond. In the face of these grave allegations, Postbank spokesperson Bongani Diako maintained that the payment systems have been running smoothly for years. He stated that Postbank’s payments of social grants have been running smoothly for the past few years, and there are no systemic problems. Diako further claimed that the bank has built additional capacity within its customer contact centre to ensure queries are resolved conveniently.Addressing the claims of disappearing funds, Diako offered an assurance that all money is safe under high security standards. “It is simply impossible for someone’s money to vanish from their accounts without explanation, and that is the reason why we encourage our customers to escalate any concerns regarding their accounts with us so that we can investigate any complaints directly on a case-by-case basis.” According to Diako, the bank values its customers and has invested in resources to ensure disadvantaged people experience dignified banking services. However, for the many beneficiaries still waiting for answers and the staff working in a state of constant fear, these official assurances stand in stark contrast to the grim reality described by the bank’s own disillusioned whistleblower.