About 4 million Americans are still awaiting the arrival of the much-awaited Economic Impact Payment (EIP), better known as the stimulus check. The payments are part of the CARES Act to provide some monetary relief from government-imposed measures and subsequent job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most common way people get their payment is by direct deposit into their bank accounts or as a paper check sent via USPS to the recipient’s last known address.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service began sending out EIPs in the form of a prepaid debit card to those unpaid 4 million people. Many see this as a “practice run” to work out the “bugs” for a second payment via prepaid cards as part of the HEROES Act currently being worked out in the halls of Congress and the White House.

The first bug appeared almost immediately when the cards, sent in a plain white envelope, had Money Network Cardholder Services (MNCS) printed on the envelope as the sender. They were easily misidentified as junk mail or a scam letter and simply thrown away by the unwary payee.

The paper checks were easily identifiable as they used window style envelopes showing the address on the enclosed check and the Department of Treasury in the upper left corner as the return address.

Several state-level authorities are getting calls about the non-descript mailings. A spokesperson for the Iowa attorney general’s office told a local NBC affiliate that they had received dozens of calls. The spokesperson said, “People were very confused wondering what these were. They were throwing these in the garbage.”

At least three states' Better Business Bureau offices have taken calls from people asking if the debit cards are real.

The IRS and Treasury Department have not issued any statements, but the IRS has been sending daily reminders via Twitter, alerting people to look for the cards in a white envelope with the MNCS address.

While not a “bug”, the other concern with the pre-paid debit cards is fees that will be charged to consumers. The EIP Card website FAQ page responded to the question: So, what are the fees?

The list of fees was as follows:

  • $2.00 for withdrawing money from out-of-network ATMs after your first ATM withdrawal.
  • Fee by the ATM operator, even if the transaction is not completed.
  • $5.00 bank teller over-the-counter cash withdrawal fee after a free first one.
  • $7.50 fee to reissue a lost or stolen card shipped in seven to 10 business days after the reissue order is placed.
  • A priority shipping fee of $17.00 for a lost card to be sent in four to seven days after the order is placed.

One Twitter response to the debit card expressed that the fees were a way to enrich corporations. It read, “Just got our EIP payment. Too bad it is a prepaid debit card. This is looking more like a way to hand corporations money. Why was this not sent as a simple check? Hidden daily limits and fees….”

The best advice to those who have not yet received their first EIP by direct deposit or via the paper check is to don’t just automatically throw away what looks like junk mail and risk losing the EIP.

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