Stimulus Check Prepaid Debit Cards Rolling Out: Updates and Checking Payment Status

The IRS is implementing a new way to send stimulus checks, noting that the next payments in the coming week could come in prepaid debit cards.

Last week, the White House set the target of distributing 100 million stimulus checks to American bank accounts in 10 days, and it seems that the U.S. government is making progress in keeping its promise. However, many Americans are still not satisfied with the process, not to mention that there have been delays in the receiving of the checks by mail or through bank.

Stimulus Check Prepaid Debit Cards

According to a report by Mass Live, many U.S. citizens will start receiving their $1,400 stimulus checks on prepaid debit cards starting this week. The IRS is also planning to issue a mix of cards and paper checks by mail after directly depositing $240 billion into American's bank accounts since March 12.

Moreover, per the IRS, about 150,000 payments worth north of $442 million were mailed as paper checks to those without banking information in their database. Additional batches and payments will also be sent in the coming weeks by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card. It added that the vast majority of all Economic Impact Payments would be issued by direct deposit.

The Federal Government has already distributed more than 90 million stimulus checks to Americans nationwide. This cash donation is a part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to give $1,400 to every US families due to the rising unemployment rate, which COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the world. The U.S. President's program includes rapid production of COVID-19 vaccine shots and reopening of stores in order to cut poverty during the public health and economic crisis that the pandemic brought.

Also Read: Is Your Stimulus Check On Its Way? A Free App Alternative to IRS Will Let You Know But There's A Catch

However, some Americans are still waiting for their stimulus checks to arrive. Despite the delay, Senior Vice President of Automated Clearing House Network Administration Mike Herd stated that the delay of some checks to recipients reflects the usual payment process for bank transfers, as AS reported.

Herd continued that banks and credit unions will make funds from direct deposits available to their customers by the same day that they received the IRS funds and are not delaying the payments, nor are they earning interest on funds they do not have.

Stimulus Check Tracker: 'Get My Payment' Tool

As reported earlier, Americans can use the "Get My Payment" tool from the IRS to know when their respective stimulus checks will arrive. However, the IRS tools only updates once per day, usually overnight.

Also, note that the stimulus checks would amount to $1,400 for a single person or $2,800 for a married couple filing jointly, plus an additional $1,400 for each dependent child. Individuals earning up to $75,000 or less would get the full payments, as married couples with income up to $150,000 or less. The Federal Government would decline those with incomes above $80,000 for individuals, while $160,000 and above income for married couples.

Related Article: Stimulus Check Tracker: What Does 'Payment Status Not Available' Mean?