Have you heard that Economic Impact Payments for approximately 4,000,000 people will be issued via prepaid debit cards? Fortunately for those who are receiving these payments, the IRS is using a super-secret method to hide what is in the envelope… wait for it… wait… the cards will arrive in a PLAIN envelope from “Money Network Cardholder Services.” That will surely prevent postal theft!
The determination of which taxpayers received a debit card was made by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a part of the Treasury Department that works with the IRS to handle distribution of the payments. The debit cards carry no fees and allow the holder to:
- Make purchases online and in person where Visa is accepted
- Get cash from in-network ATM’s
- Transfer funds to their personal bank account
- Check their card balance online, by mobile app or by phone
The card does offer consumer protections available to traditional bank account owners including protection against fraud, loss and other errors.
I try to stay positive and to look on the bright side of things, but does anyone else think this is a bad idea?
