The Check is Not in the Mail: Obama Administration to Start Direct Deposit

[woo me with science]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Media/government-direct-deposit-stop-printing-checks/story?id=10894316


By MATTHEW JAFFE
June 13, 2010

.....

On Monday the Obama administration will announce that all payments from the government will now be made to consumers electronically, ABC News has learned.

Americans receiving payments for Social Security , unemployment insurance, veterans benefits, IRS tax refunds, railroad retirement, and government benefits will now find the money automatically deposited into their personal bank accounts. Americans without bank accounts can get paid using the Treasury Department's Direct Express Debit MasterCard program.

Why the shift to direct deposits? Two reasons: one, it will be easier and faster for consumers to get paid and, two, it will save taxpayers money – an estimated $303 million over the first five years and about $120 million each year after that.

......

" announcement is a win-win for the American public because it makes government more convenient and cost-effective while generating significant savings for the country," said Office of Management & Budget director Peter Orszag. "This is precisely the type of smart, streamlined improvement that this administration is committed to making across government to boost efficiency and modernize how we do business."

.....

[HereSince1628]

1. I expect Beelzebub is hiding in the details of the MC program

I use debit cards so I've got nothing special against the idea...but my bank keeps screwing with the rules and the amounts of the 'charges' for use, for not maintaining minimum balances, etc. Reading monthly bank statements has become pretty important to avoid getting gigged.

I wonder how people with no familiarity with these devices will fair.

[WinkyDink]

2. This will wreak havoc among the poor, the residents of very rural areas, the less

than brilliant who learned how to go to a bank to cash their check but won't have a CLUE about "using the Treasury Department's Direct Express Debit MasterCard program."

THIS is Obama's big way to save money??? HOW MUCH DID MC GIVE TO HIS CAMPAIGN??

LOOK TO THE BLOATED WEAPONS AND WAR DEPARTMENT, OBAMA.

[Statistical]

13. They won't know how to use an ATM debit card.

Go to store, swipe card.

Or

Go to ATM, press withdraw, enter amount, enter pin, get money.


Really? You give the poor that little credit?

21st century. The idea of spending a billion dollars every decade just on printing and mailing checks is kinda silly.

[WinkyDink]

17. Oh, yes, I'm condescending. Of course, that's it.

Guess what? My milieu, as it were, is all of Middle-Class college-graduates. I know more than a few who know NOTHING of ATM's and debit cards. Sure, they'll learn. Who will teach the others?

Ooooh, a BILLION a DECADE! You think that's real money? 100 million a year?

[Statistical]

21. I think it is silly to spend that kinda of money for no befit.

If I burned a billion dollars rather than give it to the poor would you say "well its only a billion dollars right?".

You can get from an Mastercard debit card just like you do from a check.

If you really want cash and don't want to ever change ...... Take the card (like you would the check) to the bank and ask for cash. You can get 100% down to the penny of your SS check in cash everytime the govt reloads the card.

Works exactly like a check without having to wait for the check. :)

[sinkingfeeling]

64. WinkyDink, the states have been using Debit cards for WIC and welfare for years?

Most states also issue a debit card for unemployment and child support. I live in a state that ranks in the bottom 5 on most everything and they've been using the debit cards for about 7 years.

[jdlh8894]

35. A lot of country stores don't have "swipe machines"

Never have, never will. ATMs and banks are miles away. What are these people supposed to do?

[Statistical]

42. How do they get cash from their SS checks?

The idea that business won't adapt is silly.

[jdlh8894]

52. Stores keep a "book" (debit ledger)

for customers. When they receive their check,they pay off their debit w/it and get what is left over in cash.I personally know people who have NEVER set foot in a bank their whole life.

[Statistical]

54. I guess those stores will start using govt debit cards or risk losing business right?

One doesn't need to go to bank to get cash (or purchases) from a Mastercard.

As a side note most states now issue food stamps on electric cards? Some states even issue welfare, WIC and other programs via electronic cards.

Where do people receiving govt assistance use them in rural areas? Obviously somewhere right?
If local stores don't change then I guess SS recipients will spend their money in the same locations.

[jdlh8894]

59. Don't know about that.

However, there are quite a few people in this country who WILL NOT use a bank or plastic of any kind.

[eShirl]

81. sounds like they were traumatized by the Great Depression

and never recovered

[pipi_k]

73. If the banks and ATMs are that far away

when someone is looking at having to use an ATM card, then they're the same distance away when the person has to go to the bank to cash a check, yes?

In any event, I live in that situation. The nearest bank/ATM is miles away down country roads. If I wanted to cash a check, the distance would be the same whether it's for that reason or to use the ATM. We have a few country stores nearby that do have swipe machines. If not, we use a paper check.

Also, because of the distance from stores and the post office, we use online banking. I love it. I have a record of payments made and no more worries about payments being lost in the mail.

That, along with UPS and USPS delivery, makes it virtually unnecessary to leave the house for extended periods of time if that's what we chose to do.

:)

[pipi_k]

60. Well, to be fair....

it could be a problem for the elderly, who are, as a rule, scared of any new technology. Although not all of them are...

But people like my late MIL, whom we could never convince to use the VCR the grandkids gave her one year - she would be traumatized by an ATM card. It scared her to even use the stop, start, and rewind buttons on the VCR.

Or the time we gave her an answering machine so she wouldn't fall down running from one room to the next to answer the phone. What a joke that was.

Then, after she did fall, we got her one of those "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!!!" things. A simple button thing that they wear around their necks to call for help. Nope. Too scary.



Having to remember a PIN and then follow directions on a screen....???

aughhhhhh!!!!



I'm glad I was young enough to really appreciate the convenience of the ATM card when it first came out. Now I can't even imagine how I got along without it (and online banking) :)

[Statistical]

65. For me. ATM? meh. Online Banking? Greatest invention of the last decade.

Honestly saves me so much time and effort. Especially for scheduling recurring bills.

As an example my mortgage, ho fees, internet, gas, and electricity bills never vary (budget billing for utilities).
They are automatically set to be paid each month. Never need to think about them.

I love online banking. Then again USAA is a great bank for a lot of reasons.

[pipi_k]

77. I have to agree....

Like I wrote somewhere above....online banking is like the best thing ever.


Record of payments. No worries about payments being lost in the mail.


I don't have USAA (Mr Pip does), but I do have a savings account and credit card through Pentagon Federal. The only time I had a problem with Pen Fed was when I electronically sent a bit more than the balance on my CC account and instead of applying it toward my CC, Pen Fed stuck it in my shares/savings account. One email straightened out the problem, though.

Also, I have money in a local bank, and a local Credit Union.

Online banking makes it real easy to pay bills and deposit money to my various savings/shares accounts.

[madmom]

84. LOL, sounds like my MIL, exactly!!!

[no limit]

67. Yeah, the poor are waaay to stupid to figure out this debit card thing

I guess all the poor people are starving now since WIC is all done with debit cards because clearly they aren't smart enough to swipe a card and enter a pin number (everyone knows poor people don't have memories).

[WolverineDG]

92. Oh please

Those who live in rural areas &/or are poor are not dumb stupid idiots. If they know how to use credit cards (& most of them do), they'll know how to use an ATM.

:eyes:

dg

[leftofcool]

3. Not to mention they will have access to your personal bank account #

[LiberalFighter]

16. Which is why I have 2 accounts. One is the so called checking account

and I transfer from that to the other when it gets too high.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Do you think the govt doesn't already know how to get to your bank account?

[leftofcool]

29. IRS can but not sure if other government entities can get that

info unless it is shared. Perhaps.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. I would guess anyone can find that info

[leftofcool]

48. Another good reason then for having more than one checking account

One in a US bank and a savings elsewhere.

[hobbit709]

4. Oh, wow! a whole $120 million saved.

That will make a big difference in the deficit.
:sarcasm:

How much are we spending in Iraq and Afghanistan per day?

'Direct Express Debit MasterCard program." Right. With all the limitations of a debit car. Can't take out more than $400 cash a day. Will only work in certain places unless you want to get nickel and dimed by the fees. Donna went through that 3 years ago with unemployment here in TX. They gave her a Chase debit card for her money.
The nearest Chase bank's ATM was either malfunctioning or out of cash 2 out of every 3 times she went there. If she went inside to get her money they made her feel like an unwanted stepchild because she didn't have an account with them. If you used the card more twice in one day, they charged you a dollar a whack. If you needed more than $400 cash it took two trips and two days to get your own money and you had to be there before 2PM on the first day, otherwise it became a transaction posted on the next day and the second would be denied.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. The bank where she has her account charged her for withdrawals?

I've never heard of that.

[leftofcool]

34. I have heard of this before. Our bank does not but

I have read other forums where some banks are charging for withdrawals. I see this as being about helping banks and MC of course.

[hobbit709]

43. The deal Chase made with the state of TX(Thank you Rick Perry)

Was that Chase would handle the debit cards, but they got to set the rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. And they charged for withdrawals?

Damn.

[hobbit709]

63. More than two transactions a day.

so if you took out cash, bought groceries with the card and tried to get gas or whatever, it cost you a dollar extra.

[tammywammy]

71. It depends

I was on unemployment last summer, and I just went to a Chase ATM and withdrew all the money at once. There was no charge for me getting the cash out. Then I drove down to my credit union and deposited the money.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/uidebit.pdf

Retail Purchases No bank transaction fee ever
Cash-back Option No bank transaction fee ever
Chase ATM Withdrawals No bank transaction fee or surcharge ever
AllPoint ATM Withdrawals One free ATM withdrawal transaction per deposit; $1.50 per transaction thereafter. Never a surcharge.
Other ATM Withdrawals One free ATM withdrawal transaction per deposit; $1.50 per transaction thereafter. Surcharges may apply.
ATM Balance Inquiry at a Chase ATM No bank transaction fee ever
ATM Balance Inquiry at AllPoint and other ATMs $0.50 per transaction
Denied Transaction $1.00 per transaction
Cash Withdrawal at any Chase or Visa Member Bank One free cash withdrawal transaction per deposit; $5.00 per transaction thereafter
Card Replacement One free card replaced per year; $7.50 per card replaced thereafter

[Statistical]

72. and it looks like the fee schedule for DirectExpress is even better for the consumer.

See post #66

[LiberalFighter]

32. No different than the public when they shop around for the lowest gas price at the pump.

Or buy different brands or when there are sales. It all adds up.

As for your Donna story it sounds like that is a state issue. We had problems with UI payments here in Indiana and the word was out on how to best use the cards to avoid user fees. The main problem I believe is still ongoing is trying to file which all had to be done online.

[no limit]

70. Simple, get the money from the bank. They will let you take out as much as you need

I think you are a little self-conscious if you think they treat you like an unwanted stepchild because you don't have an account. As if they care.

[hobbit709]

78. What are you supposed to think

when the teller calls the manager and they tell you that they don't have to but are doing you a favor and to avoid this you need to open an account with them. Donna's reply was "I already have an account at my credit union so why should I open an account and pay you money just to get my unemployment?"

[no limit]

86. I don't know why that happened to you, here are the terms.

They clearly state you get one free teller transaction per deposit:

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/uidebitfaq.pdf

So you might want to call someone and raise hell if they made a big deal out of that teller transaction unless you already made one for that deposit.

You can also see that there are no daily limits on ATM use, so you can get more than $400 out.

You can also see that instead of getting this card you can have them do a direct depost to any checking account you might already have.

[hobbit709]

87. did you try to take out money or did you just read the official paperwork.

All I know is that at the time-this was 3 years ago-it didn't work that way.

[no limit]

90. That's the way it is now. So what was happening 3 years ago isnt relevent to this discussion

I don't know what the rules were back then, but those are the rules now. And that makes most of the bitching in this thread absolutely absurd. if anything it helps the poor as now they don't have to go to the bank each time to cash their checks, they have access to that money instantly at any ATM or POS terminal.

[hobbit709]

93. Well, excuuuuse me!

[no limit]

94. You're excused ;)

[rainbow4321]

5. This will help the patients in our clinic

Because a large majority skip their doc appts if it falls around the first of the month so they can stay home and "wait on their check".
Most all are low income and have to worry about the checks getting stolen from their unsecured mailboxes.
It's happens so consistantly we all know why there is a high no show rate, "oh, yeah, it's the first of the month". They will skip their appts on and around the 1st of the month til the check arrives. Not because the need the money to come to the clinic, the majority don't pay anything out of pocket because they are covered by grants or the hospital's tax payer supported insurance plan.
It's the checks getting stolen that worry them.

[hobbit709]

6. and the reason they wait for the checks is because they can't afford bank accounts

[Statistical]

14. Credit Union = free checking account.

Or they get a free govt debit card.

Kinda hard to fault this one.

Military & Public service employees have been required to use Direct Deposit for a decade now.
My last 2 jobs both required direct deposit.

Seems to make sense to move everything direct deposit.

[hobbit709]

19. See many credit unions in impoverished areas.?

[Statistical]

25. Then use debit card exactly like a check.

Take it to a bank withdraw 100% of the balance in cash (down to the penny).

The point is it gives people options. They have more methods to get cash than before not less.

If someone wanted to they could use the card exactly like they do a SS check however they could also use it POS or at an ATM.

[hobbit709]

38. See my post #4

what if the bank that issues it isn't anywhere near where you live. not everyone has easy access to transportation.

[Statistical]

40. You can get from a card w/ Mastercard logo from any bank in the US.

Any credit union, even most stores.

[hobbit709]

49. yes you can

But which bank gets the contract to issue these government money debit cards? Like I said, here in TX it was Chase for the unemployment money-you had NO other option. If you weren't near a Chase bank then it was a case of tough shitzky as they say in Moscow.

Have you ever tried to get a bank to do anything for you if you didn't have an account with them. Good luck.

[Statistical]

50. "Have you ever tried to get a bank to do anything for you if you didn't have an account with them."

Like cash a govt check?

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Then open an account at your neighborhood bank and have the funds deposited there

This is not as difficult as you make it sound.

[WinkyDink]

26. Are you in the banking industry? Snark, but qui bono?

[Statistical]

30. Nope.

I just think the poutrage is silly.

It isn't like a monthly SS check isn't without costs and hardships.

The US govt is simply doing what thousands have employers have done for decades (including ironically the largest employer... the US govt).

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. I think SS has been that way for awhile now

My sister is on disability and she has been getting automatic deposits for several years now. My mom died over 3 years ago and her SS check was an automatic deposit.

[Statistical]

33. Hmm didn't know that. Always assumed it was always a "check".

Maybe it has been optional till now (with default being a paper check).

[leftofcool]

36. Yes, but you have always had a choice before.

[Stinky The Clown]

46. Spoken like a middle class person.

[WinkyDink]

10. How many SS checks are "stolen", vs. ELECTRONIC ID THEFT??

And no, it most decidedly will NOT help the poor; the drug-addled; the Down Syndrome American citizen who has learned to take his check to the bank to get money and to take the right bus home.

WHAT WILL A DEBIT CARD MEAN TO THESE SAD CASES?? NOTHING!!!! THEY WILL NOT RECEIVE MONEY TO COUNT, TO CARRY, TO HANDLE.

MY HUSBAND, A RETIRED TEACHER WITH A PENSION CHECK AND AN SS CHECK, HAS NO IDEA WHAT A DEBIT CARD IS. WE DON'T USE AN ATM.

NOT EVERYONE IS "WIRED".

[Statistical]

15. Take debit card to the bank ...

they will give you cash from the card just like they would from SS check.

[WinkyDink]

20. Okay, whence that debit card? Does it appear miraculously? OR THROUGH THE MAIL?

[Statistical]

22. 1 debit card vs. 12 checks per month for decades.... n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. It's the 21st century, time to get "wired"

I have a disabled sibling and we are grateful her monthly income is deposited and she has to use a debit card. The thought of that much cash in her hands is scary.

She has a credit card too. If she can figure out how to use plastic anyone can.

[MineralMan]

55. Not "wired," and yet here you are posting on the tubes.

Doesn't compute very well.

[Statistical]

56. Maybe he/she is just "tubed". Tubes not wires? n/t

[SoCalDem]

75. and poor people tend to move A LOT, so this will save them time

and hassle when "checks" went to an old address..

It's a win-win..

[jp11]

7. Saving money is good but I wonder about

when/if they screw up the bank accounts or you decide to switch the receiving account, will they do what my father's pension company does and just put the payment to the future meaning he doesn't get the payment for the month or will they tack it on to the current one?

When I got him on DD they first had to stop mailing them and then he had to wait for them to do DD which meant he was without his payment for the month as it took 'xx days' to get it working.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. This is a good thing .....

... for any remaining actual middle class check recipients.

For the poor and disaffected .... maybe not so much. But meh .... who cares about the poor and disaffected?

[Bluenorthwest]

53. Most middle class types have had direct

deposit of all funds mentioned for years. Everyone has the option, what is new here is not the direct deposit but the lack of choice about that deposit. The idea that this is new service is incorrect, it is a removal of service, and as you note, those who will be hit by it will be the lower income people.

[TreasonousBastard]

9. And of course the complaining and worries about "the poor" start, but...

nobody complained about the stolen and lost checks when they were mailed? The "poor" neighborhoods were once filled with broken mailboxes on check day and the Post Office has never been hailed for perfection in delivery.

I've got Social Security, my tax refunds and a government paycheck DDed and have had absolutely no problems since that started. Might I eventually have problem? Sure, but I could have a problem no matter how they paid me.

[WinkyDink]

12. Where is your proof or links to those apocryphal "stolen checks" stories?

And, of course, YOUR PERSONAL experience is what government policy should be based upon.

[TreasonousBastard]

37. Better'n yours about how this will wreak havoc on the poor, and...

how they cash their checks at banks, not check-cashing/payday loan places.

I lived in the Bronx years ago, and in Newark, NJ not that long ago-- this stuff is just part of life there.

[WolverineDG]

95. They've gone the way of the dodo since direct deposit was started

but I used to handle many cases of seniors having their SS checks stolen or being beaten on their way to the bank to deposit it or becoming victims of domestic violence by a family member who would beat them if they didn't endorse & turn over their check to them. (You did know that endorsing a check makes it payable to the bearer, didn't you? Of course you did.)

Once direct deposit was started (amidst whining like yours, much gloom & doom that surprisingly never happened), these types of cases disappeared overnight.

dg

[mrcheerful]

57. Here in Michigan welfare is put on debit cards, both cash and food stamps

it was done to stop the drug addicts from trading the food stamps for drugs. It hasn't stopped the addicts from getting drugs for food stamps, the addict just has to go through more hassles to obtain drugs. It is called the EBT card. Btw, there hasn't been many complaints about the cards, but then on the other hand Michigan made laws so the cards could be used anywhere in the state without service charges added, unlike mailed checks because the businesses no longer had to wait until the check cleared to get the money from the government.

[TreasonousBastard]

61. Dunno about welfare, but food stamps here have been on cards for years...

I think it was a Federal mandate. Don't know of any complaints, and they work with all the credit terminals in the stores.

[mrcheerful]

76. Here everything is on the EBT card and because banks and stores don't have to wait 7 days for

the check to clear they are not allowed to charge a service fee for using the cards. I get the feeling people think that the cards will be like their bank debit cards where if you have a BoA card and use an atm from any other bank theres a service charge, but those are private debit cards from private banks. That was the other reason Michigan went to the welfare EBT card, banks were charging up to $15 to cash a welfare check. The EBT debit card stopped that practice.

[Soylent Brice]

11. pretty cool.

K&R

[Statistical]

18. Pretty smart idea.

Will it balance the budget? No but spending billions of dollars a decade to print millions of checks, then put millions of checks in envelopes, then mail the millions of checks, then have millions of people check mail for checks, then millions of people get into cars and drive to bank to cash said checks, then tellers count out and billions of dollars and give to receipient is kinda silly.

Vs

govt deposits money into your bank account OR govt deposits money onto your MasterCard.

Interesting thing is it is only MASTERCARD. Wonder how they got the exclusive contract? Wonder if I should be buying MasterCard stock?

[WinkyDink]

23. Finally you have seen the raison d'etre. Helping banks (stores have cashed checks before) and MC.

The budget is a huge smoke-screen.

[WinkyDink]

28. HOW do people GET the Debit Cards? How do they/we apply for and use? Who will teach the uninformed?

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. You get them at a bank where anyone who works there will be happy to explain

how they work.

This is not all that hard.

[hobbit709]

58. You must deal with a better class of bank than I have at times.

Most banks that I've dealt with wouldn't give you the time of day unless you had good money in their bank.
I've had banks refuse to cash a cashier's check drawn on a different branch of their bank because I didn't have an account with them.

I had a bank lose a deposit and tell me I didn't make it because they had no record of the transaction even though I had a deposit slip receipt from them, It took 3 months and notarized copies of the cleared checks from the State Comptroller's Office to get my money. Their bank stamp was clearly on the back of said "non-existent" checks. As soon as I got the money, I closed that account.

I friend of mine ran a bar and the bank told him that in order to make his paychecks to his employees good on Mon., he had to deposit the funds no later than 10AM the previous Thurs. Bar deposits are at least 90% cash-it shouldn't take 2 business days to clear a cash deposit. When he went to the bank to complain, they didn't want to deal with another long-haired hippie, so he told them I'm closing out ALL my accounts. When they figured out that he had 3/4 of a million dollars with them, all of a sudden the Vice-President comes out ready to kiss his backside. They watched him leave with his money and go across the street to their competitor.

[notesdev]

85. Let's play "identify that bank"!

Bank of America?

[jp11]

51. In the article that was linked:

The administration will make the direct deposit announcement on Monday when Treasury publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to begin a 60-day period of public comment. Once the final rule is published, the administration will roll out the changes with a public education campaign.

[Hatchling]

80. The Social Security Office

You have a very judgmental attitude about those of us who receive these checks. Low income/disabled doesn't mean stupid or uninformed.

I live in a "community" of low income people who all receive SSA or SSI checks. Simply because we are on disability or have mental disorders does not mean we are ignorant or stupid. It also does not mean that we do not communicate and help each other with changes. And we are constantly getting letters in the mail from Social Security about changes.

If we move, have a status change of any kind or a problem with a check or deposit or need proof of income or if we are simply confused about something, we know to go to the Social Security office. We all know which office we are assigned to. We know where it is because that's where we went to get on Social Security in the first place and where we go periodically to have our disability re-evaluated.

If a person is so incapacitated that they can't do this then they most likely have a payee or conservator who deals with their finances for them anyway.

I do have a credit union now, but have not had any problem with Direct Deposit at any bank I have used it the past. The money shows up in the account on the day it is due. Typically the banks I have dealt with waive checking fees with a Direct Deposit to an account I do not have to worry about checks being stolen from my mail box (which happens a lot in my "community") or having someone waiting at the mailbox to take it away from me whick also happens alot in my "community"). Mailboxes get broken into all the time and there are ofton several days delay getting your box repaired because the work schedule is so backed up.

Anyone on food stamps already has an EBT card with their stamp money on it like a debit card.

I don't know what happens to disabled people in rural areas. I don't know how it would be possible to survive in rural areas with no public transportation, access to services that are available like food banks etc., but in urban settings this shouldn't be a problem.

[MineralMan]

62. My Social Security payment arrives, like clockwork, in my checking

account on the fourth Wednesday of every month. I know it will be there, and it is. I guess I don't see the problem here, and they have the debit card solution for the unbanked.

I guess some would like these payments to be made the way payroll was handled in the US military when I served in the 1960s. Everyone lined up at a table and got cash handed to them by the paymaster. That'd work, no doubt, for Social Security payments.

It is now 2010. We can do things. They save money. That is a good thing. (Short declarative sentences intentional)

[Statistical]

66. Looks like Mastercard DirectExpress has been used by VA & SSI as optional service for years...

Looks like a great program....

Service                           Fee
Purchases at U.S. merchant locations - FREE
Cash-back with purchase 	     - FREE
Cash from bank tellers               - FREE
Customer Service calls 	             - FREE
Web account access 	             - FREE
Deposit notification 	             - FREE
Low balance notification 	     - FREE
Card replacement-One free per year   - FREE
ATM balance inquiry                  - FREE
ATM denial 	                     - FREE
ATM cash withdrawal                  - One free withdrawal with each deposit. 

The ONLY Fees You Can Be Charged
ATM cash withdrawals after free transactions $0.90 each withdrawal (after free transactions are used)
Monthly paper statement mailed to you 	$0.75 each month
Direct Express® card Bill Pay 	$0.50 each time
Funds transfer to a personal U.S. bank account 	$1.50 each time
Card replacement after one free each year 	$4.00 after one (1) free each year
Overnight delivery of replacement card 	$13.50 each time
ATM cash withdrawal outside of U.S. Surcharge by ATM owner may apply. 	$3.00 plus 3% of amount withdrawn
Purchase at Merchant Locations outside of U.S. 	3% of purchase amount 

http://www.usdirectexpress.com/edcfdtclient/docs/faq.html#17

[pipi_k]

68. I can think of yet another good reason for having direct deposit and

using debit/credit cards for purchases...

No need to handle filthy money.

Ever since I stopped using cash for purchases, I haven't had any nasty head colds or bouts of bronchitis.

For me, there were few things more disgusting than seeing a checkout clerk cough or sneeze into his/her hand, then use that same hand to give me change.

:puke:

[earth mom]

69. NOT GOOD people. This makes it easier for debt collectors to seize money from people.

They can't get a check that's mailed to you. But they can get money out of your bank account!!! :grr:

[pipi_k]

79. According to this...

http://bankruptcy.lawyers.com/consumer-bankruptcy/Bank-Account-Seizures.html


That is incorrect.

There has to be a court order.

Also, some sources of income in an account are exempt from seizure, it appears.

[mrcheerful]

82. I don't know about any other states, but here in Michigan debt collectors can not

go after folks bank accounts if said person is either on welfare or SS or SSI. Also there isn't a need for a bank account to get money off the card, Michigan has debit cards for everything people get from the state, welfare, child support etc no bank account is needed to get the money off the cards. Nor are banks allowed to charge a service fee because unlike a check, there is no 7 day waiting period for the check to clear.

[jennijohnson]

74. They have been doing that in the UK for ten years....

n/t.

[notesdev]

83. poor USPS

could be a death blow to them, their letter service has been dwindling already

[madmom]

88. When hubby retired he demanded a paper check for his monthly pension check. I was still

working at the time and the company I worked for had a direct deposit pay plan, I also had a debit card with this plan. When hubby saw how easy and convenient it was he switched and loves it. It's not as hard as you want to believe.Oh and yes I LOVE on-line bill pay!

[snooper2]

89. So has every single reason why this won't hurt the poor/elderly been shot down yet

Or do we still have some edumacation to do on this thread?

[Statistical]

91. It won't hurt the poor or elderly. It gives them more options and lower costs.

Receipients
- more options
- more access
- less work (money automatically deposited to account or card)
- less fraud (MasterCard $0 fraud liability)
- lower costs (free in most instances)

For the govt
- less cost
- less fraud
- less processing work

For the environment
- less mailing = less pollution
- less paper = less waste paper (not all of it recycled)

Win-win-win

Govt website on "go direct"
https://www.godirect.gov/gpw/index.gd

options to enroll include online, by mail, by phone. Instructions in English & Spanish. Direct Deposit is primary option but link provide for "don't have a checking account use DirectExpress Mastercard"
http://www.usdirectexpress.com/edcfdtclient/index.html

Also according to Treasury 85% of current benefits are paid electronically. There also no rush to switch. New enrollee will be required to use electronic payment after March 2011 but existing payees will have until March 2013 to make switch.
http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg644.htm

[snooper2]

96. I was agreeing with that premise, I guess I worded my post poorly

:)

[Statistical]

97. I read it a couple times.

I had a feeling it could be either or due to the weird wording. :)

[NYC_SKP]

98. I remember a couple girls back in High School, Crystal and Tammy....

And they would go around the neighborhoods checking mailboxes on given days of the month to snag government issued check, and then go and cash them.

I don't know how hard that would be to do today, but I'm glad to know that this measure should reduce or eliminate any similar nefarious activities.

And, I'd like to add that I appreciate the various responses in the thread that allay the fears and skepticism that this news development seems to have fostered.

Good day.

NYC_SKP

:patriot: