It appears as if a vast number of the 4 million Americans that have already received their COVID-19-related stimulus payments in the mail might have actually thrown them out.
The cash is being distributed via direct deposit or—if the IRS doesn't have your bank information—through a pre-paid economic impact payment (EIP) card sent in the mail. According to many, the debit card looks a bit "odd" and "unofficial."
"I was expecting a check, and this card just shows up," former business editor Gary Jacobson told the Washington Post. "I do think the debit card is an efficient and quick way to distribute the economic impact funds but the Treasury and the [financial institution] could have done a much better job of alerting and explaining the mechanics to those who received them."
Let us do that for you: The cards are issued by Meta Bank (selected as the financial agent for the U.S. Debit Card program back in 2016) and will arrive to you in a plain envelope from "Money Network Cardholder Services." Said envelope will also include instructions to help you make sure that the card is real. See the image above to familiarize yourself with what the mailing will actually look like.
You can use the card to make regular purchases but also get cash from in-network ATMs (find one right here) and transfer funds to your own bank, without a fee.
Find more information about the plan on the EIP card's website and, if you happen to have mistakenly thrown out your envelope, do not fret—you can get a replacement one.
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