Paper checks are now the exception for federal benefits, and keeping one takes paperwork. The Social Security Administration’s electronic payment page states the rule bluntly: “Federal law mandates that all federal benefit payments – including Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – be made electronically.” Treasury, not SSA, decides who gets out of…

A deposit that the bank says will be available Thursday can turn into the following Wednesday, and the regulation lets that happen. Under 12 CFR 229.13, a bank that invokes one of the Federal Reserve Board’s hold exceptions may add one, five or six business days to a check hold, depending on the kind of…

A paycheck, a tax refund or a cashier’s check for a car sale all land in a bank account the same way, but the rules do not treat them the same. Under Federal Reserve Board Regulation CC, seven kinds of check deposit must be available the next business day, and the list includes a Treasury…

Jackson Area Federal Credit Union, chartered in 1953 to serve City of Jackson and Hinds County employees in Mississippi, no longer exists as a separate institution. The National Credit Union Administration announced on September 30, 2026 that the credit union was closed and that Five Star Credit Union, based in Dothan, Alabama, had taken over…

Regulation E, the federal rule that governs debit card and other electronic transfers, puts a stopwatch on banks. Once a customer reports a disputed charge, the bank has 10 business days to determine whether an error occurred. It can stretch to 45 days only if it provisionally credits the disputed amount back into the account…

A federal check sitting in a drawer has a clock on it. Under Treasury’s own regulation, 31 CFR 240.5, the Treasury is not required to pay a check that has not been negotiated to a financial institution within 12 months after it was issued, and once that year passes the proceeds do not stay with…