Millions of Social Security recipients who use Direct Express prepaid debit cards will receive new cards as the federal government moves the program to a new banking partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The change affects about 3.6 million beneficiaries who receive Social Security<\/a>, Supplemental Security Income and certain other federal benefit payments through Direct Express cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People who already receive benefits through direct deposit into a bank or credit union account are not expected to be affected by the card transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Social Security Administration said the U.S. Department of the Treasury\u2019s Bureau of the Fiscal Service has selected Fifth Third Bank as the new financial agent for the Direct Express program, replacing Comerica Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The change mainly applies to beneficiaries who use Direct Express prepaid debit cards to receive monthly federal benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Direct Express is often used by people who do not have a traditional bank account or prefer to receive benefits on a prepaid debit card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The card allows recipients to access their payments electronically without needing direct deposit into a checking or savings account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recipients who receive their payments through regular direct deposit should not need to take action because their payment method is not changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Treasury Department selected Fifth Third Bank as the new financial agent for the Direct Express program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New enrollments started transitioning to Fifth Third Bank in May. That means new Direct Express users are already receiving cards issued by Fifth Third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Existing cardholders will receive replacement cards later this year, with the transition expected to continue into early 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beneficiaries who currently use Comerica-issued Direct Express cards should continue using their existing cards until they receive official instructions and a replacement card from Fifth Third Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SSA said benefit payment amounts and payment schedules will not change because of the transition. Monthly benefits should continue arriving as usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Existing users will receive advance notice before their new cards are mailed. Officials are encouraging beneficiaries to make sure their mailing address and contact information are current to avoid delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beneficiaries should watch for official mail or notices about the card change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once a replacement card arrives, recipients should follow the instructions provided to activate it. Those moving to Fifth Third Bank will also have access to a new Direct Express mobile app, which can be used to activate cards and manage accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until accounts are fully migrated, current Comerica cardholders can continue using existing Direct Express services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officials are warning beneficiaries to be careful of scams during the card replacement period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers may try to use the transition to trick recipients into sharing personal or financial information. Beneficiaries should not provide Social Security numbers, card numbers, PINs, passwords or bank details to unsolicited callers, texts or emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recipients should only respond to official communications from the Social Security Administration, the Treasury Department or Direct Express.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The transition comes as the federal government continues to promote electronic benefit payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SSA has said electronic payments are generally faster, safer and more reliable than paper checks. Paper checks are more likely to be lost, stolen or delayed, while electronic payments give recipients quicker access to their benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Millions of Social Security and SSI recipients who use Direct Express prepaid debit cards will receive new cards as Fifth Third Bank replaces Comerica Bank as the program\u2019s financial agent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Payments and schedules are not expected to change, but beneficiaries should keep contact information updated, watch for official notices and stay alert for scams during the transition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of Social Security recipients who use Direct Express prepaid debit cards will receive new cards as the federal government moves the program to a new banking partner. The change affects about 3.6 million beneficiaries who receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and certain other federal benefit payments through Direct Express cards. People who already … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[449,217,743,450,893,149,896,157,17,15,379],"class_list":["post-1011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-comerica-bank","tag-direct-express","tag-federal-benefits","tag-fifth-third-bank","tag-prepaid-debit-card","tag-social-security","tag-social-security-debit-cards","tag-social-security-payments","tag-ssa","tag-ssi","tag-treasury-department"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1020,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions\/1020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa-federal-forms.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Who Will Be Affected By The Change?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Fifth Third Bank Takes Over Direct Express Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Current Cards Still Work For Now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Direct Express Cardholders Can Do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Scam Warning During The Transition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why Electronic Payments Matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n