Did you receive a strange looking Visa card in the mail and you’re not sure where it came from and worried it might be a scam or junk mail? Well as it turns out, it just might be your stimulus payment. Instead of sending you a paper check the Treasury Department is issuing prepaid Visa debit cards with your stimulus payment loaded on it. Who gets the card and who gets the paper check is still anyone’s guess. Some cards have also been issued with incorrect names on them so please, if you receive them, verify everything is correct.
The cards are being issued by the Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank, and come in a plain white envelope from Money Network Cardholder Services in Omaha. These cards can be used just like any debit or credit card either for an in-person purchase/payment or to make an online purchase/payment.
To transfer the money on the card to your own financial institution you’ll need to do the following:
- Call 800-240-8100 (TTY: 800-241-9100) to activate the card or use the Money Network mobile app or visit eipcard.com.
- Follow the steps to create a user ID and password.
- Select the option that says “Move Money Out” and follow the instructions to make the transfer. You will need the number on the front of the card as well as the routing and the account number of your bank to complete the transaction. Money should be posted to your account in one to two business days depending on your financial instituiton.
You can use the card at an ATM however be careful, because unless you are using an “in-network” ATM with MetaBank you could be charged a service fee not only from MetaBank but also your bank for using a foreign ATM! There are also fees for doing a Bank Teller counter transaction (the first withdrawal is free but it’s $5 per transaction after that plus any service charges from your bank) and for doing an ATM balance inquiry (25 cents per inquiry). Please note there are limits to how much you can withdrawal per transaction!
If you already received your card and thought it was a scam, congratulations we have trained you well. If you have thrown the card away, don’t worry, you can get a replacement. Call 800-240-8100, for a lost, tossed, or stolen card. You’ll have to press through the automated options until you reach a customer service representative since you probably don’t know the card number. A Treasury spokeswoman commented that, “The standard fee of $7.50 will be waived for the first reissuance of any EIP card.”