Some Stimulus Payments Are Mistaken as Junk Mail and Thrown Away

• Learn why stimulus payments on debit cards are being mistaken for junk mail all over the country.
• Find out how to recognize your stimulus payment debit card when it arrives.
• Find out which agency decides who will receive a stimulus payment.
• Learn what to do if you accidentally discard your debit card.

If you are like most Americans, you receive tons of junk mail, which you tend to discard without ever reading. Well, if you haven’t already received your stimulus payment from the feds, maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to throw away those envelopes from unknown senders, at least until you have received your stimulus payment.

It seems the government has begun sending out its stimulus payments on debit cards mailed in plain white envelopes. Some people have discarded them, thinking it was junk mail, and Fiducial has the scoop!

The problem with these stimulus payments

The Treasury has decided to send the 4+ million people still waiting for their stimulus payments a Visa debit card. They are issued by a financial institution that the general public is generally not familiar with. They arrive in a plain envelope from Money Network Cardholder Services, also a name few will recognize.

After years of counseling by the IRS and others, people have become very diligent in watching out for scams. So, mail from an unknown source in a plain envelope appears to be just another advertisement for a credit card or, even worse, a scam. As a result, many people discarded the envelope, not realizing that it contained their stimulus payment.

The taxpayers who would receive a debit card were determined 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 IRS website does caution that some payments will be issued on a prepaid debit card mailed in a plain envelope from Money Network Cardholder Services. The Visa name will appear on the front of the card. The back of the card has the name of the issuing bank, MetaBank®, N.A. Information included with the card will explain that the card is the recipient’s Economic Impact Payment Card. The IRS asks the individuals to whom the cards were sent to go to EIPcard.com for more information.

What can you do if you discarded your debit card?

Those that did discard or lose the card can request a replacement card through MetaBank’s customer service department by calling 800-240-8100 and selecting option #2. There is no charge for the replacement card, and, luckily, you don’t need to know the card number to obtain a replacement.

Bottom line: those still waiting for stimulus payments, be careful not to throw it in the trash. Have questions about your stimulus payment? Call Fiducial at 1-866-FIDUCIAL or make an appointment at one of our office locations. Ready to book an appointment now? Click here. Know someone who might need our services? We love referrals!

For more small business COVID-19 resources, visit Fiducial’s Coronavirus Update Center to find information on SBA loans, tax updates, the Paycheck Protection Program, paid sick and family leave, and more.