Waiting for your coronavirus stimulus money? Check your mailbox for a debit card.
Willow Park resident Libby Afflerbach had been waiting to receive her stimulus check in the mail. So when she got a prepaid Visa debit card in her mailbox, she thought it was a scam.
On May 18, the Department of the Treasury announced that it had started to send nearly 4 million coronavirus Economic Impact Payments by prepaid debit cards instead of checks, according to a U.S. Treasury press release.
The debit cards are being distributed to individuals without bank information on file with the IRS, and whose tax return was processed by either the Andover or Austin IRS Service Center, the press release stated. The card allows funds to be sent efficiently and securely to recipients, the releases said.
“[The] 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,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “Recipients can immediately activate and use the cards safely.”
Inside the envelope Afflerbach received, a letter stated that her Economic Impact Payment Card was enclosed, but she was suspicious. Two weeks ago she checked the status of her funds on the IRS website, and it stated that her check would be mailed on May 22, she said. The card appeared a day earlier.
“This comes from some money company that you’ve never heard of and it looks just like all the junk mail you get to sign up for credit cards or various discounts,” she said. “All kinds of junk stuff that I throw away.”
After receiving the card, Afflerbach needed to transfer the $1,200 in stimulus money to her bank account. When she spoke to a customer service representative on May 21, she said, she was told that there was a $1,000 transfer limit so she couldn’t get all her money into her account in a single transaction.
That Thursday, it was after business hours when she transferred the money over and because of the Memorial Day, she didn’t get the deposit until Tuesday.
Stimulus payments for individuals making less than $75,000 a year are $1,200, plus $500 for each dependent child. Married couples making less than $150,000 a year receive $2,400 plus $500 for each dependent child.
This means it can take multiple transactions to get money into bank accounts.
According to the IRS, if you receive a card, it will be in a plain envelope marked “Money Network Cardholder Services.” The back of the card has the name of the issuing bank, MetaBank, which is the financial agent for the Treasury’s U.S. Debit Card program.
To activate the card, people must call 1 (800) 240-8100. People must validate their identity and create a PIN, according to the Economic Impact Payment Card website. Afterward, cardholders can either call that number to check their balance or make an account on the website.
Although there are ATM out-of-network and bank teller withdrawal fees, there are ways to withdraw the money fee free:
Make signature or PIN-debit purchases anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
Get cash back with a PIN debit purchase.
Get cash from surcharge-free in-network AllPoint ATMs.
Transfer funds to a personal bank account.
If a card is stolen or lost, people can call 1.800.240.8100. There is a $7.50 charge to get a new card shipped, which can take up to 7 to 10 business days, according to the card website. There is a $17 priority shipping fee that will ship the card 4 to 7 business days after the order is placed.
As of May 18, the Treasury has delivered more than 140 million Economic Impact Payments worth $239 billion to Americans, according to the U.S. Treasury press release.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
