Emergency Message On Social Security Debit Cards

The Social Security Administration has sent out an "emergency message" on the new debit cards to be issued for Social Security benefits. Here is the message:

Direct Express is a debit card sponsored by the Department of the Treasury that will be made available to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients through Comerica Bank. The Direct Express card allows individuals who do not have a bank account to access their funds with a debit card. The debit card can be used to make purchases from participating merchants, get money back from a point-of-sale transaction, and get cash at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and financial institutions (FIs) across the country. Representative payees for individuals may sign up for the Direct Express debit card, but it is not intended for use by organizational representative payees. Treasury will enclose an insert with information about the Direct Express program with the April 23, 2008, Social Security benefit payments mailed to 75,000 beneficiaries residing in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alabama. These are the first in a series of inserts that will be used to promote the program to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries nationwide.

NOTE: Enrollment for the Direct Express debit card is not limited to these states. Individuals from any states who inquire about the debit card can also enroll in the debit card program.

Action

When handling inquiries involving Direct Express take the appropriate action as explained in the following chart.

IF the individual…	THEN…
would like to sign up for Direct Express OR	advise him/her to call the Direct Express enrollment line at 1-877-212-9991 or visit the website: www.USDirectExpress.com. This website will be available on April 23, 2008.
obtain more information (e.g., fee schedule, how to manage card activity to reduce or eliminate their costs, etc.) about the program
has signed up for the Direct Express card and wants to know the status of his/her account (e.g., did not receive the card, etc.)	tell him/her to call the Direct Express enrollment line at 1-877-212-9991.
has received his/her Direct Express card and has customer service questions about the program	advise him/her to call the toll-free customer service number on the back of his/her Direct Express card.
has questions about Direct Express that cannot be answered using the information in this Administrative Message	tell him/her to call the Direct Express enrollment line at 1-877-212-9991
reports a missing payment and indicates that he/she receives benefit payments through Direct Express	check the MBR/SSR to ensure that the payment was sent Other than confirming that the RTN is the one that Comerica Bank is using for Direct Express no other verification is required of the RTN/DAN If the MBR/SSR shows the payment was sent to the Direct Express RTN then we should process the nonreceipt based on the beneficiary's allegation Follow routine procedures regarding when to input the non-receipt. NOTE: The RTN database will be updated in May 2008 to include the newly activated RTN and will have the following statement in the remarks: "Direct Express Debit Card". Contact your RO or PSC if you need assistance determining whether nonreceipt should be transmitted

Direct all program–related and technical questions to your RO support staff or PSC OA staff. RO support staff or PSC OA staff may refer questions or problems to their Central Office contacts.