Save time and a trip to the bank! With direct deposit, your paycheck, social security, or other regular payment can be deposited safely and automatically into your account - even if you are on vacation, out of town, or unable to get to the bank.

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct Deposit is a smart way to get paid. It is safe, confidential, convenient and saves you time. Did you know that Direct Deposit has been around for more than 25 years? It has a proven track record of success - the satisfaction rate for Direct Deposit is 97 percent.

Millions of taxpayers now use Direct Deposit to receive their tax refunds more quickly. According to the Internal Revenue Service, refunds take an average of 14 days, less than half the time it takes to receive a refund from a paper return, when taxpayers file electronically and ask for Direct Deposit.

Why should you use Direct Deposit?

Direct Deposit is safe and confidential.

• Payments made by Direct Deposit have never been lost. In fact, you are much more likely to have a problem with a check.
• Direct Deposit is more confidential. A check passes through many more hands than an electronic transfer.
• Problems with Direct Deposit, which are rare, are quickly resolved. By contrast, problems with checks may take much longer to correct, sometimes up to three weeks.

Direct Deposit is convenient and saves you time.

• By using Direct Deposit, you may save the equivalent of three workdays each year by not having to go to the bank to deposit checks.
• You don't have to be in town for your money to be securely deposited into your account. No more extra trips to the office to pick up paychecks.

Direct Deposit is fast.

• Direct Deposit gives many people access to their payments one to four days earlier than a check. There is no waiting for a check to clear.
• Income tax refunds can be delivered to taxpayers within days rather than months if the state uses electronic filing and Direct Deposit. (Associated Press, 10/27/00)

Direct Deposit helps you manage your finances.

• With Direct Deposit, you decide how to divide your pay among your accounts and it will be done automatically each payday.
• Direct Deposit gives you control. Financial planners recommend Direct Deposit as one step towards gaining control of your finances.
• Most employers will issue a payment stub that is identical to what you receive with a traditional paycheck. It will show how much was deposited into your account and how much was taken out for taxes, insurance and other items.

Did You Know?

The most popular application of Direct Deposit is for payroll, but it can also be used for many other types of payments, including:

• Annuities
• Bonuses and commissions
• Dividend and interest payments
• Pensions
• Travel expense settlements
• Vendor payments
• Income tax refunds

Fact Sheet

Direct Deposit is the electronic transfer of a payment from a company or organization into your checking or savings account.

Direct Deposit Statistics

• Approximately 61 percent of consumers receive one or more payments via Direct Deposit. (55 percent of employees, 80 percent of Social Security recipients).
• Seventy-one percent of employees who have Direct Deposit available use it.
• Ninety-seven percent of those who use Direct Deposit are very satisfied with it.
• In 2001, the ACH Network processed more than 3.7 billion payments worth more than $4.0 trillion in funds (NACHA).
• Companies can save up to $0.50 - $0.60 per payment by using Direct Deposit instead of checks.
• Studies show that consumers may spend the equivalent of three workdays each year going to the bank.
• The chance of having a problem with a check is 20 times greater than with Direct Deposit.
• Of the 922 million payments FMS distributed in FY2002, there were more than $69.1 million in forged checks, $2.2 million in counterfeit checks, and 4.3 million in altered checks (Financial Management Services).
• On average, the U.S. government spends 51 cents less to process a Direct Deposit transaction than to process a check (U.S. Treasury).
• The U.S. Treasury Department received nearly 1.5 million claims for lost or stolen checks.
• Almost 0.5 percent of U.S. annual gross domestic product is spent on printing, issuing, sorting and mailing checks.
• Nearly 40 million people had their tax returns deposited directly into their bank accounts during the 2002 filing season (Internal Revenue Service)
• Taxpayers who file electronically and choose Direct Deposit receive their refunds in an average of 14 days, less than half the time it takes to receive a refund from a paper return. (Internal Revenue Service)

Source: Direct Deposit and Direct Payment, www.directdeposit.org and www.directpayment.org.

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