Why the stimulus check may not hit your bank account until St. Patrick’s Day

Stimulus check: When to expect your paymentYour stimulus check could hit your account this week.USA TODAYSt. Patrick’s Day is the day when the green from those latest stimulus payments will actually flow into many savings and checking accounts.However, the timing of those payments has many customers at some banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, seeing red. Eligible consumers will have access to their money by 9 a.m. local time Wednesday, according to the trade group that handles the processing of direct deposits. “The IRS chose the date of March 17, which is the date on which the IRS intends for settlement to occur,” according to Nacha, the organization that governs the ACH Network.So you might want to hold off pulling out your debit card for another few days if you’ve got immediate plans for how you quickly you’d like to spend that stimulus money. There’s been some confusion lately as to when people will have access to their cash via direct deposit after seeing some “pending” action relating to the third stimulus payments on their bank accounts this weekend.Social media buzz heated up as some consumers complained about why the money wasn’t readily available. “Banks holding stimulus payments so they can collect the overnight interest on the money should be a crime,” wrote @goldietaylor on Twitter, editor-at-large for the Daily Beast. The tweet had 4,875 retweets.Another tweet from user @blu_ceo: “Live look at Wells Fargo bringing my stimulus money to the bank. Talk about speed and horsepower.” Not surprisingly, that tweet showed a photo of the Wells Fargo stagecoach.Banks holding stimulus payments so they can collect the overnight interest on the money should be a crime.— G O L D I E. (@goldietaylor) March 13, 2021Monday’s statements represented an effort by bankers and others in the industry to clarify the payment time schedule and take on their critics. “There is no mystery where the money is from the time the first payment file was transmitted on Friday, March 12 to when all recipients will have access to the money on Wednesday — it is still with the government,” according to a statement provided Monday morning from Nacha.The statement noted that the Internal Revenue Service announced that the “settlement date for the initial wave of tens of millions of economic impact payments by Direct Deposit will be Wednesday, March 17.””This is the date on which the IRS will provide the funds to the banks and credit unions to further make available to recipients,” the industry group stated.IRS officials said Monday that some money could be available to consumers earlier than the official date.The IRS noted in a press release issued late Friday: “As with the first two Economic Impact Payments in 2020, most Americans will receive their money without having to take any action. Some Americans may see the direct deposit payments as pending or as provisional payments in their accounts before the official payment date of March 17.”  More direct deposit payments will be made in the days ahead, too. People can check the Get My Payment tool on IRS.gov to see the payment status of the third stimulus payment.President Joe Biden said Monday in a speech that 100 million stimulus payments will be out in the next 10 days. He said the United States will reach a major goal of 100 million coronavirus vaccine shots in arms in the next 10 days, too. “Shots in arms and money in pockets,” Biden said.An eligible family of three might end up looking at a stimulus payout of up to $4,200 this time around, while the payout could jump to up to $5,600 for a family of four. The third stimulus will be larger for most than other stimulus payments.”In general, most people will get $1,400 for themselves and $1,400 for each of their qualifying dependents claimed on their tax return,” according to an IRS statement Friday.All the money isn’t going out via direct deposit. Some people will still get money via paper checks and plastic prepaid debit cards issued by MetaBank, both of whichwill be sent in the mail in the coming weeks. No money will be added to old prepaid debit cards that were sent out in the first or second stimulus payment programs.”The vast majority of these payments will be by direct deposit,” the IRS said Friday, without being specific on the exact percentage of payments. Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, told reporters in Washington on Thursday that people would start seeing direct deposit of the stimulus checks as soon as last weekend.Jane Larimer, president and CEO of Nacha, issued a similar sentiment on Thursday after Biden signed the massive COVID-19 relief package into law.  “The ACH Network is ready to deliver these relief payments via Direct Deposit, with funds available to people on the day instructed by the IRS,” Larimer said then. Not everyone will receive a payment, given tighter restrictions based on income.Payments will begin to be reduced for individuals making $75,000 or above in adjusted gross income and no stimulus money will be allowed for those with incomes above $80,000.For a married couple filing a joint return, the stimulus amount starts being reduced at $150,000 in adjusted gross income. No payment is allowed if incomes exceed $160,000 and up for married couples filing a joint return.                     Contact Susan Tompor via stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @tompor. To subscribe, please go to freep.com/specialoffer. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.

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