Another Trump EO: Dept. of Treasury to
Phase Out Paper Checks; All Funds Delivery
Will Be Electronic Only

I'm not sure if I like this. Everyone will have to give bank account information to have funds transferred to them. It's in line with a cashless society.

I have to agree with poster #1...I get SS by electronic mail but I also like my Tax refund on paper....

1, 2, you're already being tracked to the penny. That horse left the barn years ago. This is fraud prevention.

I get it, but the left will give the same excuse that the poor and downtrodden do not have electronic accounts.

Fat Fanny Willis and her Daddy said that black folks don't use banks, checks, snail mail and stuff like that. Only cash. I, on the other hand, curse anyone who sends me snail mail. This is the 21st Century. Stop licking stamps.

#5 ... All the stamps are self stick. And I still like to get legal docs on paper. But I'm old.

I don't like this at all.

The Post Office steals or loses half the checks mailed. Our area has no trust in the mail.

Leave MY checks alone.

not on board with this. I dont see how it changes anything with regard to fraud which is easy whether or not a check or an ACH is used. The problem is s/s numbers

I don't like it either; it takes away our choice. I like to keep the government out of my life as much as possible. If it were up to me, I'd never pay taxes and wouldn't need a refund or have to file.

Several years ago while at a bank teller’s window, an elderly lady at the adjacent teller’s window was distraught and near tears to learn that the bank would no longer take payments for utility bills and that she would have to pay the bills by sending checks to each utility company. The elderly lady did not have a checking account and, from appearances, although neat, clean and respectful, of limited financial means. The teller told her that a specific local chain pharmacy would take payments for utilities but the elderly woman did not drive and that particular chain pharmacy was quite a distance from the neighborhood where the lady resided and this particular bank branch was located. One’s heart could not help but go out to her. Personally, an aunt was in the same situation being elderly, no checking account, did not drive and resided quite a distance from the neighborhood bank branch as well as the chain pharmacy. It was my privilege and honor to care for her until her demise so arranged for her to obtain a checking account and wrote checks for her utility bills as well as other sundry expenses which she would sign or, having her financial power of attorney, would sign for her. Aside from the unfortunate risks regarding personal information and electronics, heartfelt concern exists for the elderly due to financial or various other electronics communications from legitimate sources requiring reading fine print and electronic responses due not only to a matter of aged/diminished eyesight and lack of electronic access/capability, but for some, comprehension. Unfortunately, the real world is beset with challenging obstacles, especially for individuals in their advanced twilight years. Reflecting on the above, while understanding the rationale for transitioning to electronics, do have hesitation and reservations about imposing such requirements across-the-board on the elderly who may be coping with other restrictions due to age, health, transportation, weather conditions, etc.

Welcome to the 21st century... 25 years later. Sorry but the Chinese already have all your data. Did that Nigerian Prince ever get that IPad to you? Gen X would like to know. Seriously folks, Paypal. Zelle. Venmo. Online banking literally everywhere. Come on folks. Just spring for the Experian identity lock and get on with life.

Prior to the early 1980s, the military had a ritual. You'd wait by the mailbox for your paycheck, then run to the bank (if your duty section could spare you) and wait 3-4 hours in the bank line to cash or deposit. THEN, you'd go the the BX and Commissary and waste the rest of the day in those massive lines. A million things could go wrong and sometimes did. Then in about 1981 they started "Sure Pay". At first it was optional and then mandatory. It was direct deposit and despite skepticism it worked pretty well. Payday was no longer time consuming or frustrating. Its one of the few military initiatives that wasn't a disaster. As long as the computers keep working everything is cool with direct deposit. When they dont, its a good idea to have some cash reserves to live on while the nerds fix their machines.

Well, I mail my check to the IRS. If they don’t want my money, they don’t have to cash it.

Direct deposit really DOES simplify one's life, not to mention that you get those funds more quickly than via snail mail.

10, when your checks come in, they are easily stolen from your mailbox and cashed by someone else. Now you're hosed. Good luck getting that money back ever. Direct deposit goes straight to your account. How is that just as fraud ridden as a paper check waiting to get stolen from my mailbox? When I escaped California a few years ago, I over paid my last year of income tax. They sent me a stupid paper check refund a year later. I sat in the bank for almost 2 hours with the bank VP ready to have me arrested while they confirmed it was a real check. If it was direct deposit I wouldn't have had to leave my house, waste 2+ hours with the bank, my money would be in my account instantly instead of 4 days later and there'd be zero risk of that check getting lost between California, me in my new state and the local bank. Yes, there are always a few edge cases of people who have a hard time with the modern world but if they can deal with checks they can deal with a checking account for direct deposit.

The Treasury will need more computers making magic money. Btw, what does counterfeit electronic currency look like?

I will be sure to apply any IRS refund to the next year because I don't want the IRS having my banking information in their computers.

Just my humble opinion but I don't think a lot of people are ready for this. There are some who still don't have a bank account or deal with banks at all. Perhaps move into this more gradually or set a date in the future to allow people to make plans for it. My late mom, for instance, could not have handled this. I would have had to get power of attorney and have the funds transferred to me, It wasn't that she wasn't smart, she was college educated and one of the most intelligent people I ever knew but she would have struggled with this. She didn't have a computer or smart phone to check her account online and didn't want to fool with them. There are probably thousands of people like this plus others in rural areas who don't trust banks and keep cash squirreled away. We still write a lot of checks (and I was the IT guy for my business) the yard guy, the local small store, the plumber etc. Lots of problems with trying to do this right away. Even now I run into annoying password problems. Maybe if everyone had some sort of universal credit card of some kind but they are also subject to theft or hacking and what do you do in a massive power failure or outage? Back in 1993, we had a blizzard here that knocked out power for most of the town for over a week. Most cash registers at the grocery stores went down. Maybe set a date for 15-20 years in the future to allow time for businesses and individuals to adapt.

Good savings, but I'll have to open a 'burner' bank account so the IRS doesn't screw up my main one.

Where have these "elderly" people been that they don't have a checking account and keep all their money in cash???? Most people alive today were born in the 1930s and 1940s. While I can believe that there are a few, I can't believe that there are very many. Why should the government stop modernizing because of them?

Perhaps the solution to electronics transition is to establish a “line of demarcation” based on age for individuals currently, repeat, currently receiving paper checks to continue to receive paper checks until their demise. For example, continue sending paper checks to individuals currently aged 80 as of 2025. When those individuals are no longer in the Social Security database, Treasury no longer issues paper checks.

#22~ There are cities, townships and villages throughout the country with populations varying between 4,000 or 70,000 with citizens born in the 1920s as well as the 1930s and 1940s. For those born in the 1920s, based on local population awareness, they do have savings accounts but not checking accounts. Most are of limited financial means and finding it difficult to contend with today’s high cost of living not only for food and utilities, but compounded by expensive medicines. Those on Medicaid receive government subsistence, but most are not on Medicare because they still own houses/properties purchased in their younger years so “do not qualify” for Medicaid. Those born in the 1920s were accustomed to paying bills in cash and in person to banks, doctors, for groceries, hospitals, pharmacies, utility companies and often used public transportation (busses, streetcars) or walked to destinations to make those payments. In today’s world, many banks require a minimum balance in checking accounts plus there is the cost of checks and postage to mail checks and they simply do not have enough money to establish/maintain a checking account. The plight of the elderly and ill wanting to keep paper checks is not a personally selfish demand to stop the government from modernizing, but simply asking for government consideration in establishing some modification to allow the continuation of issuing paper checks as suggested by #23. Unless and until currently healthy individuals reach their senior years and may be confronted with the ravages of age and illness, compassion for such daily life may be difficult to understand.

Oh, great. Now I hafta teach my 360-year-old great-great-great-grandfather how to open a bank account for direct deposit of his Social Security. All seriousness aside, this may help cut down on some fraud, I hope

I do think September 30th is reasonable.....that's six months from now! Likely, they'll extend depending on how it goes. At any rate, this is OT, but I'd like to also put in a plug for banking with credit unions instead of with banks. I've always found it a whole lot more accommodating and cheaper, plus the staff don't make you feel like a criminal every time you walk in the door! :-)

Also note, you can direct deposit into a savings account instead of a checking account if preferred.