New Terms of Service for UC Debit Cards
A new company is administering Pennsylvania’s unemployment insurance debit cards, and new terms of service are in place. According to Department of Labor & Industry spokesman Sean Yeakle, the new agreement offers more free withdrawals and more ATM locations. “More than 430,000 Pennsylvanians receive unemployment compensation through a debit card, and under the terms of service governing this new program we estimate they’re going to safe about $3.5-million dollars in fees.”
“That’s money that will go back into the economy and serve struggling Pennsylvanians and their families,” Treasurer Rob McCord said in a statement. The Department of Labor & Industry and Treasury Department had been working together to reduce fees – many of which are uncommon to traditional debit card users – under the new agreement with ACS.
Under the new service terms, Wells-Fargo ATMs will now be considered out-of network. PNC Bank and MoneyPass ATMs will be considered in-network. Gone is the “denial fee,” which had been applied if an attempted withdrawal exceeded available funds. However, out-of-network ATM transactions will see fees increase from $1.50 to $1.75. Impacted Pennsylvanians can learn more online.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system started going “paperless” in 2007. Today, all payments are made electronically. “That’s definitely saving Pennsylvania taxpayers money in terms of the millions of dollars associated with printing and mailing the checks, and it’s also reduces the opportunity for fraud,” Yeakle says.
