Second COVID-19 Economic Impact Payment Information

Some taxpayers have already begun receiving their direct deposits for the second Economic Impact Payment, with deposits continuing over the next several days. The second wave of Economic Impact Payments, commonly referred to as stimulus checks, was recently approved to assist those who have been financially impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We are here to keep our members informed and up-to-date with the latest information about these payments.

Receiving Your Payment

For most taxpayers, the payments will be received automatically and there is nothing else you need to do. There is no sign-up process that you need to complete in order to ensure you receive your payment. The payments are disbursed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), so as long as you have filed your most recent taxes, the IRS will have the necessary information to disburse your payment. Your payment will either be directly deposited into your financial account or you will receive your payment via a check in the mail. If the IRS doesn’t already have your direct deposit account information on file, they will issue a paper check to the mailing address on file from your most recent tax return. If the direct deposit account the IRS has on file has been closed, the IRS has indicated that your payment will be delayed, and may be rejected due to the account being closed. If your deposit is rejected, the IRS will issue your payment via a paper check to the mailing address on file for you. In an effort to prevent fraud, the IRS will not allow you to update your direct deposit information after the payment has been rejected. If you receive a paper check for your economic impact payment, make sure that each of the embedded security features are present once you receive it to verify that it is a legitimate check and not a counterfeit. Once you receive your paper check, you can deposit it into your account using the Mobile Deposit* feature in our app.

The best way to know once your economic impact payment has been directly deposited into your account is to set up e-Alerts in Digital Banking. You’ll be notified right away via email or text message when a deposit is received. The IRS reminds taxpayers that the payments are automatic, and there is no need to contact your financial institution or the IRS to track your payments. Instead, let us do the work for you! Save yourself the time of calling on the phone to check your payment status, or logging in to check your account online multiple times throughout the day. Just sit back, relax, and wait to be immediately notified as soon as your deposit hits!

Specific information about your Economic Impact Payment, including your payment amount, eligibility requirements, and payment distribution timeframe can be found on the IRS website. The IRS is currently updating their Get My Payment tool that allows taxpayers to check the status of their payment.

*Must meet eligibility requirements to access Mobile Deposit.

Protecting Your Payment

As with the last round of payments, be on the lookout for scams attempting to access your personal information. Scamming attempts have increased nationwide since the second stimulus payment was announced. Keep in mind that the officially recognized term for these payments is “Economic Impact Payment” and any official communication you receive regarding your payment will refer to it as such. Beware of any communication that uses other terminology, as it may not be legitimate. Please remember that there is no enrollment process to receive your payment, you will receive it automatically if you meet the eligibility requirements. Know that there is no “early access” to the economic impact payments. The payments will be disbursed according to the schedule determined by the IRS. Any claims from anyone that you can receive your payment faster or speed up the verification process need to be taken as a red flag. Any attempts to obtain your direct deposit information or any other financial account information via phone call, email, text, social media message, or any other channel is a scam. Do not engage with any requests for your information. Robins Financial Credit Union, nor the government, will ever contact you to ask for your account information, digital banking login credentials, or Secure Access Codes. Let’s work together to keep your information safe.

For more information about the Economic Impact Payments, please refer to the IRS website and their Coronavirus Economic Impact Payment Information Center.

At Robins Financial Credit Union, our mission is to enhance the financial well-being of our members and community. We honor this commitment by providing educational content to help you make the most of your finances. Read our other blog articles to help you gain the financial knowledge you need to succeed.