Still haven’t gotten your stimulus check? People without bank accounts face long wait

Millions of Americans have already received their stimulus payment, but millions more without a traditional bank account still have to wait weeks to get their paper checks in the mail, media outlets report.

Under the CARES Act, individuals earning up to $75,000 will get $1,200, plus $500 for dependents under the age of 17.

Around 5 million paper checks are issued each week, according to a House Ways and Means Committee memo. That means that people could wait many weeks for their checks to arrive in the mail.

“The checks will be issued in reverse “adjusted gross income” order — starting with people with the lowest incomes first,” the memo reads.

Ta’Mar Bethune, 41, of Houston, Texas, told The Associated Press that she struggled with bank account fees and was a victim of identity theft in the 1990s. She never recovered and still has trouble passing a background check to get a checking account, the outlet reported.

“They charge you an arm and a leg,” she told the AP. “You never get your full money. It’s bad, but I have no other choice.”

Around a quarter of U.S. households are “unbanked or underbanked” according to a 2017 survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

That means they either don’t have a bank account or have an account and use another financial service for payments.

The IRS said you still have time to set up direct deposit for your stimulus payment and that it could take up to 20 weeks for every paper check to be mailed, CNET reported, citing the schedule from the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.

You can set up direct deposit through IRS’ Get My Payment page.

This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Still haven’t gotten your stimulus check? People without bank accounts face long wait."