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.
Sasha Leonhardt and Jon Langlois are partners and David McGee is a law clerk at Buckley LLP where they represent bank and nonbank mortgage originators, mortgage servicers, and secondary market purchasers in regulatory compliance, transactional, and enforcement matters.
Jeff is the Chief Innovation Officer at Transcarent, leading our efforts to design novel products and partnerships supporting our end-to-end Member support services. His interests span from furthering evidence-based health initiatives to innovative opportunities that deliver trusted, simple, seamless and connected solutions that drive value for our clients, Members and the providers themselves.
Prior to joining Transcarent, Jeff was the Health Strategy and Innovation Leader at Mercer Consulting. He was the Chief Medical Officer at One Medical, designing their innovative model of care and was responsible for the company’s B2B strategy. Jeff has also served as the Chief Medical Officer at RedBrick health where he was responsible for the company’s clinical programs (wellbeing, disease management, medication therapy management). Jeff led design, development and ongoing operations of the clinical and coaching programs as well as leading outcomes research for a range of population health programs.
Previously, he was a partner at Willis Towers Watson, where he was responsible for employer based health management programs, employer-provider contracting and onsite/near site clinics. He has operated a national group of 58 primary care medical practices, was Chief Medical Officer of an early ACO management firm and was an analyst at a hedge fund.
Jeff is a board-certified internist and rheumatologist and an Associate Professor at NYU School of Medicine.
Stephen Graziano is the director of channel sales at Flimp Communications. Prior to joining Flimp, Stephen spent most of his career working in the insurance consulting space, specifically in the voluntary insurance and benefits communication arenas. He is passionate about helping employees and employers have a better experience with their benefits through better understanding, higher engagement, and cost savings for both parties.
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.
