March 1, 2011

Collect Unemployment Benefits Using a Debit Card

The Connecticut Department of Labor is going paperless with its unemployment checks. People receiving unemployment benefits had to choose in January whether to r have the money directly deposited into a bank account or receive a Visa debit card. According to a press release, the governor expects the state to save more than $300,000 a month by not having to print and mail 140,000 weekly checks.

The state also launched a related website to help explain the change.

The change will also have an additional benefit: unemployed people without a bank account won’t have to visit a check-cashing company and pay a fee to cash their check.