Economic Impact Payments on Direct Express® Cards
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Direct Express® Economic Impact Payment Information
Updated April 24, 2020
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Will I receive my Economic Impact
Payment on my Direct Express® card?
IRS will pay Economic Impact Payments auto-
matically to the existing Direct Express® card
accounts of most eligible Social Security, Sup-
plemental Security Income (SSI), Veterans, and
Railroad Retirement Board recipients.
Cardholders who filed a 2018 or 2019 tax return
should visit the IRS Economic Impact Payments
Information Center website for more information
on how they will receive their Economic Impact
Payment.
Do I need to take any action in order to
receive my Economic Impact Payment?
Most eligible Social Security, Supplemental Secu-
rity Income (SSI), Veterans, and Railroad Retire-
ment Board recipients do not need to take any
action in order to receive their Economic Impact
Payment. The payment will automatically be de-
posited to their Direct Express® card account.
Cardholders who have qualifying children need to
take additional steps in order to receive the full
amount of their Economic Impact Payment. Visit
the IRS Economic Impact Payments Information
Center website for more information.
When will I receive my Economic
Impact Payment?
We anticipate that most eligible Social Security,
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Veterans,
and Railroad Retirement Board recipients will
receive their Economic Impact Payments to their
Direct Express® card by early May.
How will I know when my Economic
Impact Payment will be available on my
Direct Express® card?
The IRS will mail a letter about the Economic
Impact Payment to the recipient’s last known
address within 15 days after the payment is made.
The letter will provide information on how the
payment was made and how to report any failure
to receive the payment.
Additionally, Direct Express® cardholders can sign
up for text or email alerts, check their transaction
history, and view deposit information by logging
into their account at the Direct Express® website.
Cardholders can also obtain account balance
information by calling the toll-free phone
number on the back of their Direct Express®
card, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Due to
the COVID-19 situation, call wait times may be
longer than normal.