I’m sure that we all know somebody that has received their stimulus check or a direct deposit payment. Many of us, however, are still waiting eagerly by the mailbox for them to arrive. What might surprise you is that the US Department of the treasury is now using prepaid debit cards in order to issue stimulus payments.
A press release on the Treasury’s website said, “Treasury and the IRS are starting to send nearly 4 million Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) by prepaid debit card, instead of by paper check.”
Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin talked about the switch being made from a paper check to a debit card.
In the press release, he said:
“Treasury and the IRS have been working with unprecedented speed to issue Economic Impact Payments to American families. Prepaid debit cards are secure, easy to use, and allow us to deliver Americans their money quickly.”
It sounds good but it isn’t without its flaws. What if you received your debit card in the mail and threw it out, thinking it was junk mail? It can happen, and it almost happened to a woman who lives in Belton, Texas.
When Vicki Wade got her economic impact payment in the mail, it wasn’t easy to identify. The envelope wasn’t marked as coming from the IRS or the Treasury and she didn’t recognize the return address. She did call to activate the card and was asked to give the last four digits of her Social Security number. This threw up another red flag!
When Wade talked to a local news station, they did some investigating and found out that it was a legitimate card.
You can call 1-800-240-8100 to learn more about getting a replacement card if you feel that you may have thrown yours away.