Federal benefit checks in the mail are on their way out, and for anyone who has never had a bank account that creates a practical problem. The payment has to land somewhere. Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have each pointed to the same starting place for people in that position.
The question for an unbanked benefit recipient is simple: where does a first account come from when the paper check stops being an option? The FDIC’s GetBanked site is the route Treasury names, and it is built for exactly that first step. It does not hand out an account, but it shows how to find an FDIC-insured bank and how to open an account there.
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Treasury’s one-sentence answer for people with no account
The Treasury Fiscal Service runs the electronic payment system that carries federal benefits. Its electronic funds transfer page, updated March 10, 2026, addresses unbanked recipients in a single sentence: anyone without a bank account can turn to the FDIC’s #GetBanked website for information on opening one online or at a local financial institution.
The same page sends people who get benefits by check to Go Direct, Treasury’s direct deposit enrollment site, and lists a phone line, (877) 874-6347, for enrolling in direct deposit or the Direct Express card. The page sets no deadline, and it makes no promise that an account will be approved. It names the route and leaves the choice of bank to the person.
What the GetBanked site walks a first-time account holder through
The FDIC’s GetBanked page is a plain guide to opening an account at an FDIC-insured bank. It says many of these banks offer accounts with low or no monthly maintenance fees when direct deposit is set up or a minimum balance is kept, and that many include free access to in-network ATMs.
For a first account, the guide suggests a “checkless” checking account. Debit cards stand in for checks, bills can be paid online or through an app, and a purchase larger than the balance is declined rather than charged a fee. That matters for people wary of overdraft costs.
The page also explains that many banks now accept applications online, while others book in-person appointments at a branch. It points to the FDIC’s BankFind tool for locating an insured bank nearby, and it notes that deposits are insured up to $250,000 per account.
Why waiting on the paper check is the shakier plan
The rule behind the shift is Treasury’s final rule on federal agency disbursements, published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2024 and effective March 22, 2024. It requires the government to deliver non-tax payments by electronic funds transfer unless Treasury grants a waiver, and it describes Direct Express and other Treasury-sponsored accounts as the ways to receive money without a bank account.
Social Security says the same thing in plainer terms. Its direct deposit page states that federal law requires benefit payments, including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), to be made electronically, that people still getting checks must switch, and that paper checks are more likely to be lost or stolen. Treasury can grant exceptions in rare cases, and the agency lists 1-855-290-1545 for requesting one.
Once an account exists, three ways to start the deposit
Social Security lists the ways to start direct deposit. People can sign up online through a my Social Security account or Treasury’s Go Direct site, call 1-877-874-6347 or Treasury’s Electronic Payment Solution Center at 1-800-333-1795, or visit the bank itself. New applicants for Social Security or SSI have to choose an electronic option when they enroll.
For people who prefer not to open an account, Social Security’s page offers the Direct Express debit card as the other electronic choice. The account route differs in one way: the money sits in a bank the person chose, under that bank’s fee schedule, rather than on a prepaid card.
The practical order is short. A person finds an insured bank through the FDIC’s tools, opens a low-fee account, and then gives the routing and account numbers to Social Security or Treasury. Questions about the benefit itself go to Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.
Which account will the first electronic benefit deposit land in?
A first bank account turns a mailed check into a balance that a creditor, a collector or a bank error can reach. Someone who has only ever handled paper checks may not know how federal benefits are treated once they sit in an account, or what to do if the account is frozen.
The Bank Account & Debt Protection Kit lays out the 2-month bank protection rule and the frozen-account response, and it includes a debt inventory, call log and deadline tracker. Part 3 covers keeping benefits provably exempt, which is the habit worth building from the first deposit.
Set up the first benefit deposit with the 2-month bank protection kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
