You are not alone if you are looking to get unemployment and you are asking a question like “unemployment debit card how long does it take to get it?” Typically, to answer a question like “unemployment debit card how long does it take to get it,” you need to consider the state you reside in and just how long it takes to process an unemployment application. You can view a site like the Department of Workforce and Development website maintained by the state of New Jersey for example, to get a good idea on just how long it takes to get a debit card following the submission of an unemployment application.
Usually you will be sent out a package containing all the information you need to activate and use the debit card. A card is sometimes automatically sent to you and sometimes you have to opt in to get the card. In some cases, if you do not choose direct deposit, you will get a debit card by default. Generally, a package will contain your debit card, a fee schedule that you should examine closely, a privacy policy, a deposit agreement, and a user’s guide. Sometimes you are supplied with a safety guide for using the card as well.
Generally, you can usually expect a card to arrive anywhere from seven to ten days, depending on when you submitted your claim, when it is processed, and where you reside. If you request a card and you do not receive it, you should get in touch with the unemployment insurance management agency to find out if and when a card was sent as well as what you should do to get a card if it is missing. It may be necessary to reissue a new card to you if it gets lost in the mail.
Many customers of the EDD who use the new debit card are rightly concerned about the new $5 fee that Bank Of America is charging for their BOA debit cards. While the new California EDD Debit card is managed by BOA the deal that Bank Of America struck with the California EDD leaves those on unemployment benefits or disability benefits exempt from the new $5 monthly fee that Bank Of America is charging their normal customers. The California EDD Debit Card is a bit different than the traditional debit card used by BOA customers. Because it is not a traditional checking or savings bank account those receiving unemployment benefits in California will not be charged any monthly fee by Bank Of America. Other fees may be charged however if you use the BOA debit card in an ATM that is not a Bank Of America ATM. You can however use the EDD Debit card at any store that takes Visa without incurring any fee. If you need cash you can use the debit card at any BOA cash machine or pop into a Bank of America branch and obtain cash at no charge. So while many EDD customers in California are concerned and angry with BOA there is no need to worry about monthly charges eating into your unemployment benefits. Obviously the EDD will be monitoring the BOA fee situation carefully to ensure that its customers are not being ripped off.
A visitor who is having trouble with their EDD Debit Card and direct deposit writes.
“My debit card transfer to my checking account failed. I put the wrong account . How do I change it to the correct account.”
What they are referring to is the ability to transfer unemployment or disability payments from the new EDD Debit Card to a checking or savings account via direct deposit. You can elect to transfer all or part of your benefit payments to your bank account. You can also elect to transfer funds on a one time basis or make periodic direct deposit transfers to your checking or savings account. However back to the question. What to do when you make a mistake with the account number and the transfer to checking fails? To fix this call Bank Of America EDD Debit Card customer service at phone number 1-866-692-9374. They can correct the bank account information that caused the direct deposit transfer to fail.
They can also assist in setting up future transfers in any way you wish. It’s this new flexibility that makes the California EDD Debit Card from BOA a great win for California benefit recipients.
A visitor to this EDD Debit Card site writes.
“I am very concerned. Looking for work and was supposed to paid last week. Now EDD is saying how it may take 10 days to receive and activate Debit Cards. That does not matter to the landlord or who is owed. Can calling B of A pin it down to when this will arrive? This is not good.”
As you can see, sometimes the debit card is not always better than traditional check or direct deposit payments. Bank Of America may be able to tell if the card has been shipped but they likely cannot pin down the exact date when you will receive your unemployment debit card. However it never hurts to place a call to BOA. The phone number to call is 1-866-692-9374 and you may also want to follow up directly with California EDD at
1-866-333-4606 or for disability benefit questions 1-800-480-3287.
If you prefer direct deposit you may want to elect to transfer some or all of your benefits to be paid via direct deposit. You should now however that usually the debit card account must be activated before this can happen so you may still be looking at that 10 day window of time before you can receive your unemployment payment on the EDD Debit card or direct deposit.
By default all California unemployment benefits and disability benefits are now paid by the new EDD debit card by Bank Of America. However if you still want direct deposit to your checking or savings bank account you can still get your benefits paid that way. BUT you first need to receive and activate your EDD Debit Card and then do what is called a Direct Deposit Transfer from your BOA EDD Debit Card to your checking or savings account. So while many folks think they will just be switching from EDD Debit Card to direct deposit they really are not, they are re-directing benefits paid to the debit card back to their checking or savings account. The trick is that before you can enable or request the direct deposit transfer of your benefits you MUST ACTIVATE the EDD Debit card and then make your reqeuest. You can then request direct deposit from Bank Of America by calling 1.866.692.9374 One nice thing is that you don’t need to bank with BOA to have direct deposit, you just need a checking or savings account somethere. You can set your direct deposit to happen one time or on a regular basis such as weekly or bi-weekly when your benefits are paid to the EDD debit card. You can choose to direct deposit all of your benefits or just a part so you can continue to spend using your EDD debit card. You must call Bank of America directly and not the EDD to setup direct deposit transfers. Before you make your direct deposit request be sure your debit card has been activated and is in your name. Be prepared to supply a valid email address and the routing and account number for the checking or savings account you want to use for your direct deposit.
As you can see, it is certainly possible to get direct deposit setup for your benefits but you first need to understand that you are doing so from the debit card to your account and not directly from the EDD. So do not throw that EDD debit card away you’ll need it activated to get direct deposit going.
Got one of the new California EDD Debit Cards and have questions? If so you are not alone. Since July 2011 the California EDD has mailed out debit card after debit card to those receiving unemployment benefits and disability benefits in the State of California. What has people puzzled is that unless you select direct deposit you get the Bank Of America EDD Debit Card as a default. So naturally people have questions. Fortunately the California EDD has put out a great FAQ to address many of the debit card questions. You can find the EDD Debit Card FAQ at which is the official EDD Debit Card FAQ put out by California. Some of the common questions addressed by the FAQ are:
Why am I receiving EDD Debit CardSM information with my benefit check?
Why are my benefits initially on a debit card and not immediately established as a direct deposit?
When will I receive my EDD Debit Card?
What will I receive with my EDD Debit Card?
How do I use my EDD Debit Card?
What is a direct deposit transfer?
How do I set up a direct deposit transfer to my checking or savings account?
Do I need an account with Bank of America to use my EDD Debit Card?
Will the EDD view or track my transactions on my EDD Debit Card?
Will my EDD Debit CardSM affect my credit score?
If you still have questions that are not addressed by the EDD Debit Card FAQ you can either call Bank Of America at 1-866-692-9374 or call the California EDD for Unemployment Benefit questions at phone number 1-866-333-4606 or for disability benefit questions 1-800-480-3287.
Having EDD Debit Card problems? Did you get your new California EDD debit card and not want one? Prefer direct deposit? Well there are ways to get help with your EDD debit card from Bank Of America but first you need to separate out what type of problem you are having. The answer to that will steer you in one of two directions to solve your problem. First are you having a problem with the actual EDD debit card? Something like charges being denied? Maybe having trouble remembering or setting your PIN or even activating your EDD debit card? Maybe you’ve lost, damaged or had your debit card stolen? For all those problems you need to work directly with Bank Of America customer service. You can call the customer service phone number 1-866-692-9374 any time of the day or night to get help with your BOA EDD debit card. They also have a website www.bankofamerica.com/eddcard where you can solve many problems without calling customer service directly.
Now if you are having debit card problems related specifically to your EDD benefits from unemployment or SDI or other diability payments you’ll need to work directly with the California EDD to solve your problem. If for example you’ve not received a debit card or you’ve not had benefits paid into your account when you expect them you should call the EDD department that provides the benefits. For unemployment benefits the phone number to call is 1-866-333-4606 and for disability benefits the phone number is 1-800-480-3287.
So while the new EDD Debit Card is cost effective and convenient it also can carry with it a set of problems that are all new to the customers. Solving your particular problem is simply a matter of knowing whether to contact Bank Of America customer service or whether to go direct to the EDD department paying you the benefit payments.
The EDD Disability Debit Card is offered to state of California residents deemed eligible for disability benefits. The EDD Disability Debit Card is exactly that, a debit card that can be used to make withdrawals and purchases. The amount of funds put on the card is equal to the benefits you are eligible to receive. You do not earn interest on any funds put on the card. The account in association with the EDD Disability Debit Card, supplied to you by the Bank of America, is fully insured by the FDIC.
The EDD Disability Debit Card is linked to an account established by the Unemployment Insurance or State Disability Insurance Department. You are supplied with a single EDD Disability Debit Card for use with the account that has been established specifically for you; secondary cardholders are not permitted. You cannot transfer the account to another individual and only the EDD is allowed to make any kind of deposits onto the EDD Disability Debit Card. When the Bank of America is informed to fund your account, the monies are made to you on the same business day.
You can utilize the EDD Disability Debit Card at Interlink® or at Plus® terminals. You can also use the card at Visa® or Plus® automated teller machines for making balance inquiries, point of sale transactions, or withdrawals. You are supplied with a PIN that you will have to use each time you make a transaction. If you desire to do so, you can establish and account alert service via online means; this will allow you to get email or text alerts to be notified if your balance on your card is low or to be notified when new funds have been added to the EDD Disability Debit Card. Alternatively, you can also make inquiries by calling the bank at phone number (866) 692-9374 or via the TTY line at (866) 656-5913.
After you get your EDD debit card from the Bank of America, you will have to visit the bank’s website and make use of the Edd Debit Card login page. On the Edd Debit Card Login you will have to verify your identity by supplying some very basic information. You will be prompted to enter in your debit card number: this is the sixteen-digit number on the front of your card. When you enter in the card number for Edd Debit Card Login purposes, do not use hyphens. You will then have to enter in a two-digit expiration month from a drop down menu provided to you on the Edd Debit Card Login page, as well as the year the card expires.
The Edd Debit Card Login page is also offered in Spanish; you can access the page in Spanish by scrolling down to the very bottom of the page and clicking on the live link labeled “Espanol.” All first time users of the Edd Debit Card Login page have to verify their card information and activate the card. If, after activation, you forget what your username is, you can call Bank of America at (866) 692-9374. You should be aware that when you sign in to the Edd Debit Card Login page the site uses cookies to track site navigational information and to record visitors to the site.
Your card comes with a PIN number so you can make ATM withdrawals. You should not give this PIN to other people. If you do, you will have to pay for any transactions made by another individual. If you lose the PIN you are provided with you will have to contact the Bank of America to obtain a new one. You should also call the bank if you happen to lose the card or if it is stolen; there is no charge for a replacement card.
Recipients of unemployment benefits, disability payments, and those getting payments for Family Leave receive an EDD Debit Card California payment option. The EDD Debit Card California payment option is associated with great benefits. You do not face check-cashing fees and you no longer have to worry or wait as you anticipate the arrival of your benefits check. This method for paying benefits to eligible recipients has been put into place by the State of California to reduce the costs associated with printing and processing checks as well as to eliminate the costs associated with mailing payments.
The EDD Debit Card California payment option comes as a Visa® debit card offered by the Bank of America. It can be used at Credit Unions, Visa® Banks, and point of sale terminals to make cash withdrawals. You can use it to buy things at stores, over the phone, or online. This card can also be used to make bill payments when necessary.
The amount of funds on the EDD Debit Card California payment option is limited to the benefits you receive and any accumulation of such benefits. You can make cash withdrawals, purchases, and direct deposit transfers with the card in question. You are not charged for card replacement, and you get unlimited customer and automated customer service inquiries. You are also not charged for making inquiries about your balance if you call BOA or if you do so at an ATM. There are no charges for making use of the card for purchases and you are supplied with the ability to get two free withdrawals every time your benefits are added to the card. If you want to make balance inquiries, talk to customer service, or you have questions about card usage, you can call the Bank of America at phone number: (866) 692-9374. For those with hearing impairments, the appropriate number to call is: (866) 656-5913.
