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Treasury Services

Beat the clock: Less than two months remain to switch customers to direct deposit

January 2013

Your customers, who still receive a paper check, are required by law to switch to an electronic payment option by March 1, 2013. The clock is ticking with less than two months left to switch beneficiaries.

Research shows that check recipients trust your tellers and bankers to assist them with financial changes more than almost anyone else. As a result, your staff plays a key role in helping customers switch to electronic benefit payments. In these final weeks, encourage your staff to talk to every customer who cashes a federal benefit check about the Treasury Department’s electronic payment requirement. Help them sign up for direct deposit via automated clearing house (ACH) right away.

By urging your customers to switch now, you will also help ensure that they experience a smooth transition to direct deposit, and help reduce your lobby lines on and around March 1, 2013.

 

It is easy to make the switch

There are three simple ways your staff can help beneficiaries switch from paper federal benefit checks to direct deposit:

  1. Sign them up on the spot using your financial institution’s enrollment process.
  2. Use the Online Enrollment (Off-site Link) system provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Go Direct® campaign.
  3. If people are not ready to sign up on the spot, urge them to switch online at www.GoDirect.org (Off-site Link) or by calling (800) 333-1795 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

People who do not choose direct deposit by the deadline may be issued a Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card.

 

Free materials and more information

Treasury is actively getting the word out during Go Direct Month in January and has a Final 100 Days: Partner Activities to Help People Switch (Off-site Link) checklist of activities to further inform and reassure your customers who may be resistant to switching to direct deposit. The Go Direct campaign also provides educational videos and fliers (Off-site Link) to explain why the Treasury Department is requiring electronic federal benefit payments and how direct deposit works.

You can find additional free materials to share with your customers in the Financial Institutions (Off-site Link) section of the www.GoDirect.org (Off-site Link) website, such as sample newsletter copy, fliers, social media posts and statement messages. Beat the clock—take action today!

 

 

The Go Direct® campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Federal Reserve Banks. The Go Direct® and Direct Express® logos, Go Direct® and Direct Express® are registered service marks of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Management Service (used with permission). The Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card is issued by Comerica Bank, pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated.  MasterCard® and the MasterCard® Brand Mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated.

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