The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are beginning to send nearly 4 million economic impact payments by prepaid debit card, instead of by paper check or direct deposit.
The IRS had trouble with some direct deposits because it was relying on information from taxpayers’ 2018 and 2019 tax returns, and in some cases the money went to temporary bank accounts set up by tax prep chains. Paper checks are starting to go out, but they take longer. The prepaid debit cards promise to provide more convenience, but if they get lost in the mail, that could pose problems as well for people eagerly awaiting their economic impact payments.
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Dr. Dave Rengachary is Senior Vice President and Head of Underwriting for U.S. Mortality Markets at RGA Reinsurance Company, where he has served instrumental roles in setting the risk philosophy for the department, oversight of US Manual development, leadership roles across numerous USMM underwriting initiatives and regulatory engagements. He previously served as Chief Medical Director for RGA
Prior to joining RGA in 2013, he was a general neurologist in practice at Missouri Baptist Medical Center where he also served as medical director for their Primary Stroke Center. Dr. Rengachary attended the Honors Program in Medical Education at Northwestern University. He then completed an adult neurology residency at Washington University followed by a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology. He serves on the board of directors of Memory Home Care Solutions and Oasis, non-profit organizations respectively dedicated to Alzheimer's caregiver support and healthy aging. He has obtained board certification in neurology, insurance medicine, FALU, and FLMI. Dr. Rengachary recently received his executive M.B.A. through the program at the Olin Business School at Washington University.
In 2021 Dr. Rengachary accepted a position as chair of ACLI's Risk Classification Committee. He is Past-President of the Midwestern Medical Directors Association; current Deputy Director of the Longer Life Foundation; Medical Consultant for the Academy of Life Underwriting; and a past member
The Treasury said recipients can use the so-called EIP Cards to make purchases, get cash from in-network ATMs, and transfer funds to their personal bank account without incurring any fees. They can also check their card balance online, by mobile app, or by phone without incurring fees. The EIP Card can be used online, at ATMs, or at any retail location where Visa is accepted. The free, prepaid card comes with the kinds of consumer protections available to traditional bank account owners, including safeguards against fraud, loss and other problems.
“Treasury and the IRS have been working with unprecedented speed to issue Economic Impact Payments to American families,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin in a statement Monday. “Prepaid debit cards are secure, easy to use, and allow us to deliver Americans their money quickly. Recipients can immediately activate and use the cards safely.”
Under the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed in March in response to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS and the Treasury have been sending out payments of $1,200 to individual taxpayers, $2,400 to couples, plus an extra $500 for each of their dependent children.
The Treasury said it has already sent more than 140 million economic impact payments worth $239 billion to Americans by direct deposit to accounts at financial institutions, Direct Express card accounts, and by check. The Treasury-sponsored EIP Card is another way to distribute the money efficiently and securely to eligible recipients and their families. EIP Cards are being sent to qualified individuals who don’t have bank information on file with the IRS, and whose tax return was processed by either the Andover or Austin IRS Service Center.
The Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank, will mail out the EIP Cards to eligible recipients starting this week. Each mailing will include instructions on how to activate and use the card.
The EIP Card is part of the Treasury’s larger U.S. Debit Card program, which offers prepaid debit card services to federal agencies for electronic delivery of non-benefit payments. MetaBank was picked as the Treasury’s financial agent for the U.S. Debit Card program in 2016, after a competitive selection process by the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service.
For more information about the EIP Card, click here. For more details about economic impact payments, click here.
