U.S. TREASURY’S DIRECT EXPRESS® PREPAID CARD EARNS HIGH MARKS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY POPULATION
AS THE MARCH 1, 2013, DEADLINE FOR ELECTRONIC FEDERAL BENEFIT PAYMENTS NEARS, TREASURY OFFICIAL AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS SUCCESS OF TREASURY-ENDORSED PREPAID DEBIT CARD
By March 1, 2013, anyone who receives Social Security, Veterans Affairs or other federal benefits will need to receive their payments electronically, either by direct deposit or the Direct Express® Debit card. Today the U.S. Department of the Treasury is releasing the results of a new study that shows extremely high satisfaction with the Direct Express® card, a prepaid debit card that allows individuals without traditional banking accounts to receive their federal benefits electronically.
Wednesday, July 18, Treasury official Walt Henderson can discuss how the Direct Express® card has helped more than 3 million Americans safely and easily access and use their federal benefit payments since it was introduced in 2008. And with the March 1, 2013, deadline getting closer, the Treasury Department is urging federal benefit recipients to sign up for the card or direct deposit without delay so they can enjoy the convenience and security of electronic payments. Henderson can share with listeners how easy it is to sign up for electronic payments and remind check recipients about information they will need to have on hand when making the switch. This move to all-electronic payments will provide significant savings to American taxpayers — an estimated $1 billion over the next 10 years.
ABOUT THE SPOKESPERSON: Walt Henderson is the director of the EFT Strategy Division at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service, where he manages the Treasury Department’s Go Direct® national public education campaign to encourage the use of direct deposit or the Direct Express® card for federal benefit payments. Walt also manages policy issues related to electronic payments and is responsible for implementing the All-Electronic Treasury initiative, which requires all federal benefit payments be paid electronically by March 2013.
