April 15, 2007

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  NEWS: NC's Unemployed Get Debit

   

  Proving that time is catching up with the public good, the state of North Carolina is now disbursing debit cards instead of checks to those consumers earning unemployment insurance payments. The N.C. Employment Security Commission rolled out the program earlier this year with full participation for all recipients, except those enrolled in direct deposit or grandfathered in under older rules, with the addition of some trade-related programs.
  
  North Carolina's ESC looks at the program as a way to not only save the state money on the high costs of printing and mailing checks, but also to help those on the dole save money on sky-high check cashing fees if they don't have a bank account. North Carolina is just the latest state to go plastic, part of a nationwide push for individual states to make payments electronic to save funds, quicken payment disbursement, and avoid the additional cost and mutual headache of lost checks. Of course, the boon is not without drawbacks – there are a bevy of potential fees associated with the debit cards, just like a regular bank card. Recipients can expect to be nickel-and-dimed for everything from ATM withdrawals to balance checks to replacement cards, if they don't carefully skirt the rules.
  
  For this, and other reasons, the cards are far from universally popular. Some recipients note that it is a bigger hassle than necessary to have to withdraw cash and get either an official check or money order to pay such bills as monthly rents – and that the costs associated with such motions are just as hefty as they would have incurred in getting their cash at a check-cashing joint. Of course, those unemployed with bank accounts can avoid the hassle by enrolling in direct deposit.

  
  Last year, North Carolina distributed $830.5 million to unemployed workers.
  
   
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