A glitch in on the Postbank IT system has resulted in a shopping bonanza for residents in several Northern Cape towns, including Brandvlei, Keimoes and Upington.

At about 11am on Saturday morning customers began streaming into KLK Landbou, a general dealer in the town, to shop with Postbank payment cards. “They were shopping like mad. People who would not spend R200 in a week were buying groceries worth R2 000,” says John Eygelaar, GM of the store.

“We closed our doors as usual at 12.30pm, but it took until 2.30pm to finish serving the customers – and there were people outside begging to come in.

“This morning it was the same story. I have checked with my bank, the money is in my account. But there is something fishy going on. I’ve told my staff not to accept any more of these cards. It seems that some people with Capitec and Absa cards are also able to get the vouchers.

“The people are telling me different things. They don’t know where the money is coming from. Some say it is money from Mandela; others say it is a loan from Postbank. But now they are angry because I won’t accept the cards.”

Smittie, proprietor of Smitties general dealer, confirmed the story. “I’ve heard it’s a system error at Postbank. They are sorting it out,” he said. “I asked the first person where all the money came from. They did not know, they said it was a Christmas box. After that I just told my customers my system was off-line and I could not accept their cards.”

On Sunday residents were reportedly driving to nearby towns, and as far as Upington, to continue their spending spree. Two people apparently bought second hand cars (under R30 000), using their cards. It is estimated that over R100 000 was spent in Brandvlei over the two days.

Several owners of retail outlets in neigbouring Keimoes and Upington noted similar activity.

Heindricht van Coller from the Spar in Keimoes said there were additional sales, but there wasn’t a stampede of any magnitude. “I don’t know exactly what happened, but it seems as if Postbank clients realized that there were money available on their cards. They could not withdraw cash or check a balance, but electronic transactions were accepted.

A manager of a Checkers outlet in Upington confirmed similar behaviour.

However on Monday morning these transactions were declined. “It seems as if the Postbank system was offline,” Van Coller said.

The Brandvlei police station is aware of the situation and has advised the local merchants not to accept any card transactions until there is clarity.

“Brandvlei is a small town,” says the station commander Wilna Basson. “We picked up the unusual spending very quickly.”

According to Basson, MTN customers received a message from MTN instructing them to dial in a specific pin and follow the instructions. They also had to input their Postbank account number and pin number. After this they received a message that the money was available and they had to put their card in the ATM to validate it.

Once this was done they were free to shop – but not to withdraw funds.

Johan Kruger, communications manager for Postbank and Bridget Bhengu, communications manager from MTN had not heard about this. Bhengu was alarmed and wondered if there was not a WASP (wireless application service provider) involved. Both will follow up and contact Moneyweb with details.

Unfortunately for these shoppers, and most of them are not well off, they will have to repay the money.

The SMS was a scam. “Our investigations showed that some members of the public in the Northern Cape received a scam SMS telling them that they would receive an amount in their bank accounts if they went through a certain process,” says Shaheen Adam, acting MD of Postbank.

“No money was deposited in any Postbank account as a result of such a scheme. Some Postbank account holders who went shopping were able to overdraw their accounts owing to a system glitch, and Postbank is in contact with these account holders to recover the monies.”

MTN is also conducting an investigation into the matter. “The major concern is that people have given out their banking information,” says a spokesman. “On the 15th and 16th of December many people will be paid their December salaries plus a bonus.”

However Postbank communications manager, Johan Kruger says that it is impossible for Postbank accounts to be hacked because they are not internet-enabled.