Better Markets filed a Comment Letter with the U.S. Department of Treasury in response to the Trump Administration’s Executive Order, “Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account.”
Why It Matters. Most payments flowing to and from America’s bank account are made electronically, including about 96% of Treasury-disbursed payments and 80% of tax refunds. The U.S. Treasury has rightly recognized that, relative to electronic payments, paper checks are more expensive to process, slower, and more prone to fraud. The Treasury is dedicated to harnessing the benefits of innovation for better, faster payments, which benefits all Americans.
Dangerously, however, the Trump Administration has announced that all paper checks for payments to and from the federal government will stop in a few short months, on September 30, 2025. This means that all checks for social security payments, veterans’ payments, and tax refunds will change to electronic payments, unless individual consumers are approved for an exception.
What We Said. The Treasury should provide all Americans with detailed information on the exception process and extend the implementation date to allow appropriate time for all to understand how this change will affect the payments on which families rely for food, housing, healthcare, and other necessities of daily life. The Treasury should also explore and implement the best ways to limit fraud on electronic payments, especially debit card transactions, which are particularly vulnerable. Finally, the Treasury should reject any long-term plans to use cryptocurrency—which is riddled with fraud and abuse—for government payments.
Bottom Line. There are many valid reasons that some Americans—including some of the most vulnerable in our society who do not have reliable internet access, who live in rural areas, and who do not have a bank account—cannot make or receive, or do not feel comfortable using, electronic payments. Forcing an abrupt transition away from paper checks would be a grave, careless, and cruel decision.
