Complete Your Bank Details
After clicking next, youll be taken to a page like in the screenshot above. Enter your Receivers details. This will be information like your name, address and account/debit card info.
Click Next. According to the MoneyGram website, many account deposits are completed within minutes, subject to banking hours and systems availability.
When Will I Receive My Debit Card
The debit card is mailed to you when your first benefit payment is authorized by the EDD. Allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery. Subsequent payments are issued to the debit card when you submit a certification and you are determined eligible for payment.
SDI Customers who are eligible for benefits will receive the following three to five business days after their claim is approved:
- A payment notification .
- California debit card for Unemployment and Disability Benefits notification.
The following items are in your debit card welcome packet:
- Your debit card
- Wallet-size Quick Reference Guide with customer service and fee schedule information
- California Employment Development Department Debit Card Deposit Agreement with Schedule of Bank Fees
- Bank of America Privacy Policy
When you receive your card, carefully read all information to ensure proper activation and use of the card. We recommend you activate your card immediately.
How To Link Your Checking Account To Your Edd Debit Card
After you have taken out your money and deposited it at your financial institution, visit Bank of Americas website and link your checking account to the debit card.
An important point to note is that neither Bank of America nor the EDD informs you that your EDD Visa debit card account number is your card number and your password is the last six digits of the card number. That’s because BofA wants to make it very inconvenient for you to link your bank account to the debit card. The longer your money sits in the bank’s money vaults, the more interest BofA receives from the Fed. Disgusting.
Access your account and input your financial institution information. You can choose to set up automatic transfers, which still takes up to two or three days. So, if possible, try to drive to a BofA branch and take out the cash immediately.
Note: If you need your money immediately, do not link your checking account to the debit card and transfer funds immediately, as this process takes two to three days. Your money will sit in BofAs money vaults, and the Fed will pay interest to the bank on your money. BofA will also be able to loan out a percentage of your money, charging high interest rates and loan origination fees, and maybe even write another shoddy mortgage loan.
If You Can, Go Into a Branch and Request Your Money in Person
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Why Hasn’t My Debit Card Been Credited
There are several reasons why an expected payment may not arrive on your debit card. Here are a few of them:
- You failed to activate your debit card. When you received your debit card in the mail, you also receive instructions for activating the card by phone or online. If you didn’t activate your card or didn’t activate it properly, benefits won’t appear in your balance.
- You didn’t certify for benefits. States require you to certify your eligibility for benefits on a regular basis. If you fail to certify for a specific period, you won’t receive a payment. If you forgot to certify, your state may allow you to go back in the system and complete certification for that period. Don’t delay, however, after some time has lapsed, you may not be able to go back and claim benefits to which you were originally entitled.
- Your claim has been questioned or suspended. While this is unlikely, it sometimes happens that your unemployment agency receives information that causes it to suspend your claim while it investigates whether you are still eligible for benefits. In many cases, this happens because you made a mistake while certifying for benefits and answered a question in such a way that would disqualify you from a benefit payment.
Tip
Some states have automated phone and online systems that can tell you when a payment has been sent to your debit card. Check the service first to make sure that a payment has actually been issued.
Look For A Job In An Industry That Hires Fast
If youre still searching for employment, consider a bridge job. Basically, its any job that helps you pay the bills, even if its not your ideal job. Because many businesses are having trouble recruiting employees right now, you may be able to negotiate better wages than you could in pre-pandemic days in fields that dont traditionally pay well.
Some places to look:
- Data entry: Many industries need data-entry clerks and have fully remote positions. Typical pay ranges from $10 to $15 an hour. If you have solid typing skills, becoming a transcriptionist is another option.
- Online tutoring: If you have a special skill or a college degree, getting an online tutoring job can help you bring in extra cash. Typical pay ranges from $10 to $27 an hour.
- Food service, retail and hospitality. Across the country, employers in food service, retail and hospitality are holding job fairs, with many hiring on the spot and paying higher wages than they did in the past. For example, these 160,000 restaurant jobs pay over $10 an hour.
Also check out The Penny Hoarders work-from-home jobs portal, which regularly features remote entry-level listings.
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Two: Visit Your Prepaid Cards Website To See If They Offer Transfers To A Bank Account
Some prepaid card companies help you do transfers to your bank account through their website or app. So your first stop should be the website of your prepaid card provider.
Check Your Card Companys FAQ Page
Here, theyll usually have a FAQ page. If your card company allows transfers, theyll state it very clearly.
For example, the Bank of America CashPay card says the following on their FAQ page:
you may perform an Online Funds Transfer via the CashPay Customer Service website at www.bankofamerica.com/cashpay to transfer funds from your CashPay account to a traditional checking or savings account owned by you in the United States.
Not in the FAQ? Check Your Card Companys Features Page
If you dont find it on your card providers FAQ page, check the features and benefits page of your prepaid card.
On the Netspend website, this information appears on the Card Benefits page:
Have a bank account in addition to your Netspend Card Account? Link your financial accounts from participating bank accounts and you can transfer money between them and your Netspend Card Account.
If your prepaid card company offers transfers to your bank account, then carry on to the next step. If its not clearly stated, then your best bet would be to try the MoneyGram method that we list below.
No More Food In The House
Legitimate recipients say they’ve been caught in the crosshairs. Single moms Candace Koole, 29, and Vanessa Rivera, 30, said they had a similar experience to Moon’s. Koole, a doula, and Rivera, a lien negotiator, said they became unemployed last spring and were granted California benefits.
Koole discovered her funds were missing when she was trying to buy food at the grocery. She said she was unable to quickly recoup the $9,000 that had been stolen.
“I never knew if I was gonna be homeless. I never knew if…you know, if I was going to be able to get birthday presents for my kid,” Koole said in an interview with CNBC. “I never knew what was going on. It was around Christmastime, that was also really hard.”
When Rivera noticed $800 of benefits were stolen, she said she had to drain her family’s savings.
“At one point, I had to actually break my son’s piggy bank ’cause I didn’t have gas and he didn’t have we didn’t have like, no more food in the house,” Rivera told CNBC. The two are also plaintiffs in the same class-action lawsuit as Moon.
Bank of America did not comment on Moon, Koole and Rivera’s situations. The bank said in a statement to CNBC that its “No. 1 goal always has been to ensure legitimate recipients could access their benefits.”
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Dont Pay Debt If Youre Putting Your Health Or Housing At Risk
A bare-bones budget includes only your basic necessities: housing and utilities, food, health care and minimum debt payments. But in a true emergency, you may have to make even deeper cuts.
Try to work with your lenders. But focus on paying rent and utilities, keeping food on the table and getting medications you need before you make payments on credit cards or loans.
Yes, youll damage your credit score if you miss payments without your lenders permission. But you can recover from bad credit. While your credit score is important, your health and housing are far bigger priorities.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She writes the Dear Penny personal finance advice column. Send your tricky money questions to
Use Your Banks Cardless Atm
Select banks now offer cardless ATM usage to make it more digitally safe for customers to pull out money.
You Need:
- A bank account at any of the banks mentioned below in bullets
- A smartphone with that banks app installed
With the onset of hackers being able to steal customers ATM card numbers, banks are using this technology to cut down on fraud at ATM machines.
The banks claim this is a safer way to pull out money from the ATM, since it will require more digital security measures, such as scanning a barcode at the ATM machine for authorization to withdraw cash from your account.
Its also convenient for customers who dont want to carry an ATM card.
How to Get Cash Through the Banks App
Wells Fargo allows you to take advantage of 13,000 ATMs without a debit card. You use the banks app to get a one-time 8-digit code and use that as your ATM PIN.
BBVA offers Mobile Cash, which lets you send money using a cell phone to any BBVA ATM so you can pick it up, or you can send it to someone who can pick it up. If the sender is not a BBVA customer, they will need to pay a fee.
BMO Harris and Bank of Hawaii offer barcodes instead of numerical PINs, and when youre at the ATM you need to scan the QR code, plus enter your PIN to verify your identity.
These is a list of banks that offer this feature:
- BBVA
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Watch Out For Potential Unemployment Scams
During times of emergencies and natural disasters, the rates of scam activities increase. Its important to stay vigilant and aware of scammers who may pretend to be a government agency in order to gain access to your personal information.
Possible scams include emails, texts, phone calls, or social media messages that appear to come from the U.S. Department of Labor or your states unemployment office, asking you to verify your personal information, including your name, Social Security number, or bank account information. Scammers often also ask for up-front fees in order to process your payments or application.
How Money Gets Loaded Onto Your Debit Card
Q: How will I know when funds are loaded to my card?You may self-enroll in optional text or email alerts to inform you when funds are added to your account and when you have a low or negative balance. To enroll in the alerts, login to your account on the Key2Benefits.com website.
Q: Can I load money onto my card?No. Only the Employment Security Department can add funds to your debit card.
Q: Who should I contact if I have questions about the amount loaded on my card?If you question the amount loaded on to your card, you should call the ESD claims center at 800-318-6022 . KeyBank cant answer questions about how much you should have received in benefits.
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Apply For Unemployment Benefits As Soon As Possible
Four: Link Your Bank Account To The Prepaid Card By Providing The Routing Number And Account Number Of Your Bank Account
To perform the transfer, most prepaid card providers will ask you to link your bank account by entering your bank accounts routing number and account number.
Your routing number is a 9 digit number that tells you where your bank account was opened. One place to search for it is at the bottom of your checkbook.
Its also known as your ABA or RTN number.
Make sure you have this ready. If you dont have the routing number of your bank account, check with your banks website.
Most banks have a page where all their routing numbers are listed. Have a look at U.S. Banks website for example.
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Reliacard Activation Time Limit & Expiration
You must activate your card within 12 months of your first benefit payment, otherwise your payments will return to TWC. We cannot reissue these benefits.
Your ReliaCard is valid for two years, even if you stop receiving unemployment benefits. The expiration date is on the front of your card. Keep your ReliaCard in case you apply for benefits again before it expires. To avoid being charged a monthly inactivity fee, do not keep a balance on your card for more than 12 months without using it.
If you are receiving benefits when your card expires, U.S. Bank will automatically mail you a new card.
You can use your ReliaCard to:
- Make retail purchases anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Look for the Visa logo.
- Get cash back when you use your card for retail purchases at participating merchant locations. The amount of cash back may vary by store. Be sure to ask about cash-back limits before beginning your transaction.
Select Credit or Debit to make a purchase. Select Debit to get cash back with your purchase at participating merchants. You will have to enter your PIN and indicate the amount of cash you want in addition to the cost of the purchase. If you select Credit, you will need to provide your signature, and you cannot get cash back.
You cannot use your ReliaCard to:
- Pay for gasoline at the pump. To protect you from overdrafts and pre-authorization holds, you must go inside the service station and pay at the counter before you start pumping gas.
Sell Any Possessions That You Dont Need
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How Can I Get My Debit Card Replaced
If your card is lost, stolen, or damaged, it can be replaced at no cost to you.
If your card has been lost or stolen, you must contact Bank of America at 1-866-692-9374 .
If your card is damaged, you can order a replacement card online by visiting the Bank of America debit card website.
If your card has expired, and you did not have any activity on the card within the last 90 days, or if you have a balance of less than $20, contact Bank of America debit card customer service.
Note: If you have activity on your card within the last 90 days, or if there is a balance of $20 or more, Bank of America will automatically mail you a new card before your card expires.
How Bank Of America Makes Money From People Accessing Unemployment Benefits
Commonly referred to as a convenience fee, a swipe fee, or an interchange fee, all credit card companies are allowed to charge merchants a fee for accepting electronic payments, and these fees are often passed on to the consumer. Swipe fees currently run between 21 and 24 cents per transaction. These fees total about $20 billion dollars a year for big banks. Additionally, banks are allowed to charge merchants .05 percent of a total transaction as a fraud loss recovery charge.
And while Bank of America did not pay California for the contract or vice versa, the bank makes $408,000 in convenience fees if every Californian on unemployment swipes their debit card just once or pays one bill via the internet with their EDD Visa debit card. Two swipes each and BofA makes $816,000 in convenience fees three swipes and BofA makes over $1.2 million dollars in convenience fees. How convenient indeed!
These figures do not include fraud loss recovery charges or Californians who are on state disability and paid family leave. It only includes the 1.7 million Californians who are unemployed. Nice one, BofA.
If you happen to be a Californian receiving unemployment benefits, disability, or paid family leave, you must refrain from using the EDD debit card, whether by swipe or bill paying via the internet.
Be Sure to Activate Your EDD Card by PhoneDon’t Activate It Online!
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